Code Geass: Paladins of Voltron
by W.I.T.C.H.-and-Naruto-Gurl
Summary: One day on a hiking trip, the student council from Ashford Academy discover a cave filled with lion and catlike drawings. Within the cave they discover a huge robotic lion that is one of seven pieces to a giant robot named Voltron: the Defender of the Universe. Will Voltron be enough to free Japan?
1. Chapter 1: Rise of Voltron Part 1

Chapter 1: Rise of Voltron Part 1

"Why isn't this just perfection everyone?" trilled the voice a curly haired blonde in designer hiking boots and leather jacket, "The way the sun meets the lake and the mountain air whipping in your face! It was the perfect day for a hike to Lake Kawaguchi!"

"If (gasp), you say so (gasp) Milly," coughed a lanky dark-haired teen behind her, currently bending down on his knees heaving large gasps of air.

"See Lulu? That is exactly why you shouldn't always be skipping out on gym class. What on earth will the ladies think of a man that isn't even strong enough to sweep them off their feet?" the blonde, now named Milly, teased with a quirky grin to the boy.

"Lelouch doesn't need the muscle," said another teen of seventeen years behind them said, "while he may be frailer than a twig he has the brains to make for it."

"Ha. Ha. Very funny Suzaku!" Lelouch replied glaring lightly at the Japanese boy.

Almost all of the members of Ashford Student Council were out hiking by the magnificent Mt. Fuji (Nina wasn't attending as she had 'other' plans) to get to one of the beaches by Lake Kawaguchi to celebrate the new addition to the Student Council. Rai, a mysterious, tech-savvy, silver-blonde haired boy that arrived at Ashford about a week ago. Milly and Lelouch had found him wandering around Ashford grounds in nothing but what appeared to be rags and numerous injuries and offered him a place to stay so long as he attended the school as a student.

Also accompanying them was Kallen Stadtfeld, the sickly daughter of a Britannian noble that often missed school due to illness.

Unbeknownst to all but Lelouch however, Kallen's real name is Kallen Kozuki and was really of both Britannian and Japanese descent and was also a current member of a Japanese resistance group her late brother had started after Japan was invaded. Until Japan was liberated, however, she was forced to play the role of a sickly Britannian noble daughter that could barely seem to stand on her own two feet. A position that she hated with every fiber of her being.

Kallen was currently piggy-backed up the mountain path by a blue-haired boy named Rivalz Cardemonde, the Student Council Secretary. A happy-go-lucky guy and always willing to help others, especially girls, he took it upon himself to carry the 'crippled' student council member up to the mountain and was currently doing an excellent job even though he was panting nearly as hard as Lelouch.

"Doing alright there Rivalz?" laughed an orange-haired girl named Shirley Fenette, a fellow member and school swim club member, at Rivalz's predicament.

"Yep! Yep! I'm good, don't you worry about me!" the blue-haired boy smiled, "Don't worry Kallen, the lake isn't that far from here!"

"Thank you…" Kallen muttered in her faked timid voice. Even though she hated the position that she was in right now, Kallen had to admit that deep down she was quite touched that Rivalz was willing to carry up to the lake.

Everyone laughed at Rivalz's determination. Unbeknownst to them, a green-haired yellow-eyed woman followed them not too far behind.

o~o

The lake waters were crisp and clear as the crew set up for the day at the beach. Shirley was already in the water floating on an inflatable water bed, and Suzaku, Rai, and Rivalz had pulled out some water guns and were battling it out, they even dragged a reluctant Lelouch in, though he seemed more interested in dodging the attacks to get out of the water than fighting back. Milly and Kallen were on the shore tanning under an umbrella.

After about an hour of fun in the water, Rai returned to shore and emptied the heavy-looking backpack he had brought along with him. The items inside included a small satellite, headphones, a receiver, and what appeared to be a homemade Geiger counter. Rai adjusted the headphones onto his head listening to a faint electronic beeping and a multitude of voice murmurs.

"Rocking out to something?"

Rai gasped as he looked to see that Milly and everyone else in the group had left their activities and snuck over to see what all the equipment was about. Rai removed the headphones to speak to them.

"It's nothing important," Rai responded trying to sound casual.

"Why did you bring all of this equipment out here Rai?" Suzaku asked eying it suspiciously, "It looks similar to the stuff the military uses."

"I didn't steal it if that's what you're thinking," Rai defended, before smiling proudly, "I built all this."

"You built all this?" Rivalz asked in amazement before Rai swatted his hand away when he attempted to touch the satellite, "How? When?"

"I-I don't know," Rai admitted, "I've always had a knack for building things like this, but I can't seem to recall from where. Either way though, I designed the satellite to reach as far as the edge of the Solar System, though it works a little better at night."

"You mean out to Kerberos?" asked Kallen in amazement, "Why so far out?"

"Stop Rivalz!" Rai exclaimed when Rivalz attempted to poke the Geiger counter this time. Rivalz reeled back pouting. He just wanted to have a look, was that asking too much?

"Now Rai," Milly purred with 'that' smirk on her face, "if you're going to remain a member of the Student Council we can't be having any secrets now can we~?"

Rai sighed. 'Well the cat's out of the bag now,' he thought. "Okay, fine… long story short, I've been picking up alien radio chatter."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...Come again?" Kallen asked as everyone else stared at him like he just grew an extra set of eyes.

"...D-did you just say, aliens?" Shirley asked tentatively.

"Okay, so you're a little cuckoo, I'll keep that in mind for the next Crossdressing Ball," Milly said with a playful shrug.

"No, I'm serious!" Rai protested as he pulled out a notepad with the word 'VOLTRON' written across on the top and child-like drawings of robots and aliens below it, "They all keep repeating one word: 'Voltron'! I didn't know what it meant at first, so I did a scan of the surrounding land of Area 11, and this area," he pulled up a map on his laptop with several blinking points. The biggest one was where they were now, right next to Lake Kawaguchi, "I've never seen a radiation spike like this, but when I saw that the Lake wasn't closed off because of this radiation I figured it could maybe be this 'Voltron.'"

"So that's why you wanted to come here to 'celebrate'! So you could investigate further." Suzaku realized as he remembered that Rai insisted going to Lake Kawaguchi to celebrate his addition to the Student Council.

"But that doesn't explain how you pinpointed the location of this 'radiation' Rai," Lelouch said.

"That's where this Geiger counter comes in!" Rai explained, snatching it from Rivalz who was holding it, causing him to pout, "I noticed that the repeating series of numbers I keep hearing looked like a Fraunhofer line."

"Frown-what now?" asked Rivalz asked, confused as ever.

"Fraunhofer line," Suzaku explained, "I learned about this during my military training in the Engineering Department. It's the number describing the emission spectrum of an element. The head of the department said that the military used to use this a few years ago when Area 11 was first established to locate the major sakuradite mines to use for the Knightmare Frames."

"Exactly, thank you Suzaku," Rai continued, "that's what I've been picking up, except this 'element' doesn't exist on Earth, that's what led me to the conclusion that this could be the 'Voltron' thing I've heard in the chatter, so I built this Geiger counter that's specifically designed to locate it."

"Wow!" Shirley sounded impressed, "And here I thought Nina was the school's tech genius."

"It's pretty cool, really," Rai said rummaging around in his bag again before he pulled out a sheet of paper, "The wavelength looks like this."

"Rai, can I see that?" Lelouch asked as if realizing something. Rai handed the paper over, and Lelouch stood up and held the article in a way that the wavelength was right in front of him. The others watched as the chess master glanced between the paper and the mountain range surrounding Lake Kawaguchi.

"Wha… What is this?" he whispered mostly to himself, though the others heard him as well.

"What are you doing?" asked Kallen curiously.

"Guys look at this," Lelouch expanded the reading to show them, "this reading matches the mountain range exactly."

"Holy Britannia you're right!" Shirley exclaimed in realization. Everyone else shared various levels of surprise as well.

"So?" asked Rivalz, "What does it mean?"

"Rai," Milly asked, "how accurate is that counter thing of yours?"

"Um… I haven't tested it out yet, but it should be able to pick up right away."

Milly simply smirked one 'those' smirks, which depending on the day could make the other members of the student council fear for their lives.

"Everyone… who wants an adventure?"

o~o

Using Rai's Geiger counter (that was surprisingly effective) as a guide, the group soon found themselves deep within the forest surrounding Lake Kawaguchi. Milly seemed uncharacteristically determined to find out what Rai's Geiger counter was picking up. The only time she was as determined as she was now was when something outrageous was happening at the Academy and offered a kiss from a member of the student council as a prize, much to the ire of the other members.

"How much further Rai?" asked Milly. As Rai knew how to use the Geiger counter, he was the one leading the group; he had Rivalz holding the small satellite that went with it to pick up the reading.

"According to the readings… it's right around…" Rai stopped in his tracks as they came to the edge of a clearing. On the other side of the area was the opening to a cave.

"...Here."

"Inside that cave?" asked Rivalz.

"Well, where else would it be coming from?" Suzaku asked.

"Okay," Shirley said shrugging her shoulders, "we found out where this 'Voltron' energy thing is coming from, can we go back to the beach now?"

"No way Shirley!" Milly exclaimed, "I know it's weird for me to say this, but we should check it out! Who knows what could be in there!"

"Exactly!" Shirley nearly shrieked, "What if there's some dangerous radioactive… stuff in there and we end up getting affected?! I could get cancer or have one of my children be born without legs!"

"Shirley, calm down," Lelouch reassured the green-eyed girl, "There's nothing to worry about here. Besides, if this area were radioactive, it probably would have been closed off to the public for authorities to deal with it. Heck, the lake itself could have been closed in case radioactive waste got into it."

This seemed to calm Shirley down if only slightly, though she still seemed hesitant to explore a mysterious cave, they happened to find in the middle of the forest.

"Look, Shirley, it could be nothing," Suzaku said, "we'll just have a look at the entrance if there's nothing there we can leave."

"Exactly!" Milly appraised, "Simple and clean curiosity, that's all."

"Well… okay if you say so."

"Well come on! I want to see this!" Rivalz exclaimed, running toward the cave entrance, dragging the sickly Kallen behind him, who 'struggled' to keep up.

"Rivalz slow down!" Milly called running after him, Rai following close behind.

"Well, let's-"

"WOAH!" Rivalz shout interrupted Suzaku, "Guys! Check this out!"

Alarmed by Rivalz shout, Lelouch, Suzaku, and Shirley were quick to follow into the cave.

What they saw made them freeze in awe.

On the walls of the cave were drawings. They were drawings of a giant blue lion. It seemed every wall of the cave told a story about it. Some had images of people bowing and worshipping it, while others showed the lion performing acts of great heroism. It was stopping a meteor from crashing into the earth, spreading rain over fields of crops. It went on and on.

"What is all this?" asked Lelouch, looking at the drawings.

"It looks like… drawings of a lion goddess?" Kallen guessed.

"There aren't any lion gods, or goddesses, in Japanese myth right Suzaku?" asked Milly. Suzaku shook head in denial.

Rivalz looked closely at the markings of the lion; he noticed one drawing was covered a little in dust, so he swiped his hand over it to get a better look. Suddenly all of the pictures started glowing a bright blue. Rivalz yelped and jumped back.

"Rivalz! What did you do?!" shouted Kallen in alarm.

"Nothing! I just touched it! That's all!" the boy defended in a panic.

Suddenly, the ground beneath them glowed bright blue as well in a circular shape and suddenly gave way. The group slid down rapids of the water screaming at the top of their lungs. It ended in a waterfall that led to a shallow pool at the bottom. Everyone groaned as they picked themselves up, now soaked from head to toe. Rivalz groaned as he straightened and blinked. When his vision finally cleared, he was slack-jawed, as was everyone else.

"Lions are everywhere…" Rivalz muttered as the group stared at the glowing orb with a large mechanical lion inside.

o~o

AN: Well, this came out a little later than I anticipated. It was because I just went through a massive stack of midterms last week and I was trying to do the entire first episode of Voltron first before I started posting this (I'm currently about 2/3 the way of getting it on paper) but let's say I lost my patience.

Anyway, for those of you who took the time and looked at my 'Story Ideas' page, you'll see that I have made a couple of changes, one of them being the absence of Nina. I'll be honest with everyone... I don't like Nina, and I know a large amount of the CG fanbase doesn't like her either. If you are familiar with the Code Geass series, you should know why. But at first I needed her for someone to fill in Pidge's techno-savvy shoes, so at first, I was going to torture myself into writing Nina's character, but then after doing some research on the Code Geass wiki, I stumbled across Rai.

For those who don't know who Rai is, he's the character you play as in the Code Geass video game: Lost Colors. I have never played the game myself so I don't know how to write the character, so sorry for those who have played the game and see Rai as a bit OOC, but I'll try my best (feel free to offer me behavior advice for him). Since the player technically is 'in his shoes' in the game, you develop his character depending on what path you take for him. I guess I'm making up another path for him, which would be the 'tech-genius path.' Haha! But fasten your seatbelts, for the little I do know... I have some pretty big plans for him (evil laugh).

Anyway, I'm going to stick true to my promise when it comes to my other two stories. Once I've finished writing the pilot episode and chapters for Voltron, I'll be sure to publish another chapter for one or both of my other stories, so don't worry they aren't dead, but remember college will always come first for me.

So, I hope you enjoyed this first chapter; the next chapter will be posted in the next few days so I can pace it out until the 'episode' ends. R&R and stay tuned!


	2. Chapter 2: Rise of Voltron Part 2

Chapter 2: Rise of Voltron Part 2

"What is that? Is that the 'Voltron'?" Shirley asked nervously, staring at the giant robot lion. The lion itself had blue metal with metallic legs and torso. The face of the lion looked like one you would see on an ordinary lion with bright glowing yellow eyes and a white muzzle with blue on the edges.

"It must be…" Milly said, unusually serious and shocked.

"I haven't seen any Knightmare Frames this advanced or in this design before, not to mention it's way bigger!" Suzaku said. Being a member of Earl Lloyd Asplund's Engineering Core allowed Suzaku to know about a lot of the military's weapon projects, but as far as he knew there was no mention of a weapon like this.

"Me neither," said Lelouch.

"But then why is it here?" Kallen asked.

"I don't know," Rai admitted, still in absolute awe of the giant robot, "but this must be where I'm getting all those crazy readings from!"

Lelouch started approaching the lion, seeing that there wasn't anything or anyone here to stop him from doing so. The other student council members followed close behind. "It looks like there's some kind of force field around it, so it should be okay to approach."

As they walked closer, Rivalz kept his eyes on the lion. The teen couldn't explain it, but it felt like the lion was staring at him. "Um, does anyone else here feel like this thing's staring at them?"

Everyone looked at him like he was nuts, "No..." Kallen said with a raised eyebrow.

"...Yeah, the eyes are totally following me!"

Lelouch was standing right in front of the force field, and he put his hands on the surface, his eyes squinted in concentration, "I wonder how we get through this…"

"Maybe you just have to knock…" Rivalz said sarcastically and did just that. He yelped when it felt like a jolt of electricity ran through him. The forcefield glowed with a blinding light before vanishing from around the lion and the platform underneath suddenly lighting up as well. The ground beneath them also rumbled as everyone just stared at the lion in shock.

Suddenly an image of seven lions, each looking similar but each a different color, fly high into the sky like shooting stars. In a flash of light, the lions were gone only to be replaced by a gigantic robot with red and green arms, orange and blue feet and shins, to yellow and purple knees and upper legs, and the head with the same glowing yellow eyes inside the mouth of a black lion. It swung its sword of fire across the sky lighting it for the universe to see.

"Woah!" Rivalz muttered in awe as did everyone else. "Uh... did everyone just see that?!"

"Voltron's a robot!" Shirley shouted in shock.

"A huge… huge AWESOME robot!" Milly practically squealed in excitement.

"And this thing is only one part of it," Kallen added, "I wonder where the rest of them are?"

"If that's the case then what is it doing down here?" Lelouch asked, "And why isn't it with its other pieces?"

"I don't know," Suzaku muttered, "but it's still incredible."

"I know for certain now that those aliens I heard are looking for this thing," Rai confirmed.

The lion suddenly started to move on its own as it lowered its head in front of the students. Shirley immediately started screaming in fright, scared that it might eat them. That turned out not to be the case however as the lion's mouth opened right in front of Rivalz to reveal a pathway inside of it.

Skeptical, but still curious about what was inside, Rivalz approached the platform and walked in. The other students followed close behind. Right before the lion closed it's mouth though, another person also snuck on behind them. The green-haired woman quietly found what looked to be a small sleeping chamber in the back of the lion and snuggled into the area without anyone noticing.

Rivalz quickly took the path up and found what looked like the pilot's control room with a single chair in the middle of the room. Looking around, Rivalz took a seat and crossed his legs with a smug smile.

"Well, here we go-woah!" Rivalz didn't finish as the seat suddenly pushed him forward to the front. Once it stopped the room started glowing in a bright blue aura and control screens popped up in front of Rivalz. The other student council members weren't too far behind him, all of them staring in wonder at the advanced technology inside.

"Woah!"

"Cool!"

"Wow!"

"Alright very nice!" Rivalz said with a laugh as the main screen in front of them turned on to show the inside of the cave they were just in.

"Okay, uh everyone," Shirley said nervously, "I think I just need to point out, just so we're all, you know, aware. We're in some kind of futuristic, alien, cat head right now."

Just as the words left Shirley's mouth, Rivalz felt another jolt of electricity run through him; only this one seemed to penetrate to his very core. His ears suddenly filled with the sound of a purring lion.

"Woah! Did you guys just hear that?!" asked Rivalz almost frantically.

"Hear what?" asked Suzaku cautiously.

"I-I think it's talking to me," Rivalz tried to explain as he examined the control panels in front of him before spotting a keyboard. For some reason, as if through instinct he knew which buttons to push. He had no idea what was happening, but it was like the lion was telling him what to do somehow. After pressing the correct keys, the legs of the lion moved, and it lifted its head and let out a mighty roar that shook the cave. The lion seemed almost happy to be walking around, but no one could feel it's excitement as much as Rivalz was.

"Okay got it," he said with a grin, "now let's try this!" Rivalz pushed the controls forward, and the lion shot out of the mountain cave like a rocket and flew into the sky, and as it was descending to the ground, it did a front flip before using missiles in its legs to glide across the field. It then shot into the air again with a series of corkscrews, with everyone inside the head screaming at the top of their lungs, and everyone holding onto either the pilot seat or Rivalz himself.

"RIVALZ!" screamed Kallen as the lion did a few more flips, "YOU ARE. THE WORST. PILOT. EVER!"

o~o

Meanwhile…

"What in King George's name is that?!" exclaimed Viceroy Cornelia li Britannia, seeing the blue lion swooping around near Lake Kawaguchi. About a few miles away from where the lion was found, a small military base had been set up upon Earl Lloyd Asplund's request, believing it could function as a good practice sight for the Lancelot Knightmare Frame that Suzaku piloted. Cornelia had visited the base to ensure everything was in order only to receive a shocking surprise at the Blue Lion's appearance.

"It appears to be a flying, lion-like Knightmare ma'am!" a soldier next to here reported as he lowered his binoculars.

"I can see that you fool!" Cornelia exclaimed, "What I mean is, is that Knightmare one of ours? And if it is, why wasn't I alerted about it?"

"Alerted about what?" the voice of Lloyd Asplund asked behind her followed by Cecile Croomy, his assistant.

"Asplund, why wasn't I alerted about this test run?!" Cornelia demanded.

The Earl blinked, "Test run? I don't recall authorizing a test to run on any Knightmares." he took the binoculars from the soldier next to Cornelia to see for himself as Cecile pulled out one of her own.

"I don't believe that Knightmare is one of ours Viceroy," Cecile informed Cornelia, "and if it is the Engineering Corps wasn't aware of it… Lloyd?"

The Earl slowly lowered the binoculars. His mouth was open with his tongue hanging out and eyes sparkling with stars, drool descending his chin. "I don't know whose that is… but I want it!"

o~o

The blue lion landed on the ground once more and began bouncing around like a mountain lion. Everyone inside the head held onto something as the ride continued.

"Isn't this awesome?!" exclaimed Rivalz with a broad grin.

"Make it stop!" yelped Shirley, who was starting to look a little green, "Make it stop!"

"I'm not making it do anything; it's like it's on autopilot!"

Suddenly, the lion's back legs fired it off the ground, and the lion ascended into the sky.

"Rivalz!" shouted Lelouch, "Where are you going?!"

"I just said it's on autopilot," he explained, "it says there's an alien ship approaching Earth, I think we're supposed to stop it!"

"What did it say exactly?" Milly demanded.

"Well, it's not like it's saying words, more like feeding ideas into my brain… kind of!"

"Wait, if this thing is the weapon they're coming for, why don't we just like, I don't know, give to them? Maybe they'll leave us alone," Shirley suggested, "Sorry lion, nothing personal."

"Or we end up giving it to them, and they turn on our planet!" Lelouch argued, "This the first time we're contacting other life outside Earth, we have no way of knowing if they're hostile or not. If we give this to them, maybe not even the Britannian Empire can stop them."

Everyone seemed to agree with Lelouch's statement and were glaring at Shirley. Her eyes widened in realization at that possibility and had the decency afterward to look a little sheepish.

"Oh… nevermind then."

It wasn't long before the lion exited the Earth's atmosphere and entered open space. The group didn't have time to admire the stars though as moments later a sizeable purple ship with illuminating purple lights appeared in front of them like a bolt of lightning, and twice as fast.

"Holy Britannia! Is that really what I think it is?!" Milly shouted in fear and astonishment at seeing a real alien ship.

"...They found me..." Rai whispered in horror. Lelouch glanced at him suspiciously. What did he say?

After floating and observing the ship for a few seconds, the ship started firing purple lasers at them.

"We need to get out of here!" Kallen ordered, sounding uncharacteristically frightened.

"Hang on!" shouted Rivalz as he pulled on the controls and the lion flew off at top speed. Even though Rivalz had little to no idea what he was doing, the lion seemed to know what to do as it maneuvered and dodged all the attacks with little to no effort.

"Okay, I think I know what to do!" Rivalz exclaimed.

"Rivalz, be careful!" shouted Suzaku, "This isn't a simulator!"

"And you don't think I know that Suzaku?!" he replied as he helped maneuver the lion around the lasers. He then pushed down on one of the control levers, and the lion's mouth opened wide and fired a powerful blue beam directly at the side of the ship. It sliced through it like a sword, causing massive explosions.

"Let's try this!" Rivalz smiled as he flew the lion closer to the ship, scrapping the lion's claws on the other side leaving deep gashes, causing explosions as well.

"Nice job Rivalz!" Lelouch praised.

"Okay, I think it's time to get these guys away from our planet!"

o~o

"Lord Zarkon, the escaped prisoner and his people found the lion. It attacked us and is heading out of the system," the commander of the warship reported to the overlord on the computer screen. The shadowy figure on the other side narrowed his eyes.

"Follow that lion and alert all ships in the area to intercept. Capturing that lion is your first and _only_ priority."

"Yes, your majesty. Full power, after the lion."

o~o

"Oh no!" Milly gasped as the ship started picking up speed behind them.

"They're gaining on us!" Kallen exclaimed.

Lelouch's eyebrows furrowed, "It's weird, they're not trying to shoot us. They're just chasing!"

"Okay seriously, now we think having aliens follow us is good? I'm not on board with this new direction guys!" Shirley exclaimed.

"Where are we?" asked Milly looking around.

"Edge of the Solar System," Rai gasped in awe looking at a distant moon to the side, "That's Keroberos, Pluto's moon!"

"That's impossible!" Suzaku exclaimed, "It takes the most advanced spaceships decades to get out this far! We got out here in five seconds!"

Suddenly, what appeared to be a swirling, sparkling wormhole, like a vast swirling ocean.

"What is that?!" Shirley nearly shrieked at the sight of it.

"Uh, this might seem crazy, but I think the lion wants us to go through there!" Rivalz explained hastily.

The gang looked at the vortex. There was no telling what was on the other side of it. There could be more dangers. Despite these possibilities though, they're instincts were telling all of them to go. But they all knew that whatever was on the other side was important, and something that they needed to know desperately.

"Where does it go?" Kallen asked Rivalz.

"I-I don't know… Lelouch what should we do?"

"Why are you asking me? Ask Milly; she's the Student Council President."

"You're more experienced with this than I am Lelouch. You're the chess master, not me, so what's the best move to make right now?"

Lelouch stared at Milly in shock for a second, realizing she was talking about in her hidden message. As much as he wanted to deny it, he was still technically a Prince of Britannia, and now it was time to act like one. He furrowed his eyebrows as his brain worked on overdrive. If they went through that wormhole, there was no telling if they would come back. A minute on the other side of that wormhole could equal a century or more on Earth. Though the opposite was possible as well, he had left Nunnally behind, and while he trusted Sayako to keep her safe, once word got out about the seven of them going missing, his identity as Lelouch vi Britannia could be exposed. Should his face make it on the news, Cornelia, Euphemia or someone else from the military could recognize him, and there'd be Britannia soldiers swarming Ashford Academy faster than he could say "I am Zero!"

Not to mention that the Black Knights would be awaiting further orders from him ever since they made their debut at the hotel jacking just over two weeks ago. Since then, they haven't done much but assist the police in taking out drug cartels and exposing corrupt politicians and businessmen, but he could tell that they were all anxious to take their 'Knights of Justice' charade a step further, and without him, they could do something rash and ruin everything. But from what he could tell, Ohgi, whom he had placed as second in command, seemed to be the most level-headed of the Black Knights and wouldn't take too many risky chances. It appeared he had no choice but to trust them until he and Kallen got back.

However, if he found out what this lion, and it's other pieces were capable of, and convinced the others, including Suzaku, to help him, he could use this 'Voltron' to defeat Britannia. Not to mention that there seemed to be little to no chance that the lion was willing to turn around and go back to Earth even if they tried. Plus, even if they did manage to turn around, the aliens would no doubt follow them, and possibly invade Earth, endangering not only Nunnally and Japan but the whole world as well.

Once everything was thought over, there was no choice in the matter.

Clenching his teeth in frustration, he finally spoke, "Whether we like it or not, the lion seems to know more about what's going on than we do. Besides, I doubt we can force it to turn around, not to mention that those aliens will follow us back to Earth as this lion seems to be their target. From the way things look, we're going to have to trust it. But if we're in this together, we should decide as a group."

Everyone took a moment to look at one another, all of them, though some reluctantly, seemed willing to go through with this, after all, they wouldn't be alone in this.

Rivalz sighed, "Alright, guess we're all ditching class tomorrow."

With that said, Rivalz urged the lion towards the wormhole, which almost immediately upon entering, closed behind them, the alien ship pursuing them missing it by seconds.

o~o

AN: And here's part 2!

All I want to say right now is... THANK YOU! I honestly wasn't expecting to get so many reviews already seeing that this is the first Voltron/Code Geass crossover on Fanfiction. Anyway, so now the Ashford students have officially left their Solar System, what dangers await them next and what did the Galra captain mean by 'escaped prisoner'? Dun, dun, duuuun! Anyway, the next chapter will be up in another two days, and hopefully, the entire pilot episode will be finished in two weeks at the latest.

Also, forgot to mention this last chapter but Rai's voice actor for my fanfic is going to be Vic Mignogna, just imagine Edward Elric's tone and voice.

Until then, R&R!

Review Replies:

DigiXBot: Yep, sure seems like it! Oh, the chaos that the Galra are about to experience (Evil Laugh)!

Benjustice: Well there are seven lions in this fanfic so all the people in the Blue Lion right now will pilot one. You'll just have to wait and see who steers what.

TempestLaw: Thank you! I think that Nina is one of the most annoying characters in all of the anime and that's a saying a lot coming from me as I don't find a lot of things annoying. As for team roles, you'll just have to wait until the next chapter. This story is going to be epic!

TFG (Guest): You'll have to wait until the next chapter, though you're welcome to try and guess.

dsgundam00: Thanks. I hope you'll be able to enjoy it.

Jose19: That's kind of the point isn't it...? By the time this fanfic ends, Britannia is going to see they aren't the last Superpower here honestly!


	3. Chapter 3: Rise of Voltron Part 3

Chapter 3: Rise of Voltron Part 3

Everyone within the lion held onto the walls and chair for dear life as they traveled at breakneck speeds through the wormhole. They were going so fast it felt like their skin was peeling off. Out of all of them, Rivalz strangely seemed to be the calmest. Fortunately, it didn't last long as the lion exited the wormhole seconds later, which closed behind them. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Woah…" Rivalz muttered, "That was-"

Before Rivalz could complete his sentence, Shirley couldn't hold her lunch any longer and immediately threw up to the side of the control panel, making everyone cringe in disgust, Milly and Kallen even wrinkled their noses to block the smell as they were the closest to the poor girl. "Sorry," she muttered in embarrassment before hurling again.

"I'm surprised you took this long Shirley," Milly commented with sympathy, still wrinkling her nose.

"I don't recognize any of these constellations…" Suzaku observed, "we must be a long, long way from Earth."

"The lion seems to want to go to this planet," Rivalz informed them as they approached a planet that looked very similar to Earth, "I think... I think it's going home."

With a burst of speed from the lion, it soared towards the lush planet full of forests, mountains, and oceans almost identical to Earth. Unfortunately, the group didn't have time to enjoy the scenery as they were once again holding on for dear life as the lion descended. Lelouch and Milly were holding onto the back wall while the others were hanging onto Rivalz's pilot seat.

"Guys, personal space! Rai your breath is killing me!" he complained.

"Uh, is it just me, or is anyone else having second thoughts about flying through a mysterious wormhole?" Shirley asked, "Why are we even listening to a robotic lion anyway?!"

"It got us away from that alien warship didn't it?" Rivalz pointed out.

"I don't know if you noticed," Kallen hissed, "but we're in an alien warship!"

"What's up with you Kallen? You don't normally act like this." Milly noticed with a raised eyebrow of suspicion.

Kallen growled, "Look, I'm frustrated with this situation and terrified because Rivalz is the one flying this thing!"

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Everyone knock it off!" Lelouch exclaimed, "No one's happy to be in this situation, but we're here now!"

"Lelouch's right," Suzaku agreed, "if we're going to get through this, we need to do it together!"

"So, what do we do?" asked Rai.

"First we need to know where we're going," Lelouch deduced, "Rivalz?"

"I… don't know," Rivalz admitted. He looked around at the others who were staring at him, "I'm sorry the lion's not talking to me anymore. Wait! Wait, wait, wait! Shhh! Listen. I think I hear something."

"I'm hearing it too," Milly said.

"Yeah," Shirley said, "it sounds like a… high-pitched squeal…" The group got their message to the noise as Rivalz's fart finally made itself present.

Disgusted reactions emanated from the group as they all covered their mouths and noses to block out Rivalz's fart as the boy himself smirked in amusement.

"But seriously, there's a castle up ahead," Rivalz said. Everyone looked up as the mechanical lion approached a mountaintop overlooking a vast ocean. The mountain itself seemed to form around a large white metallic building consisting of seven spires, with cyan blue outlines and windows. The formation made it look like a mystical castle from the Middle Ages of Britannia with a few touches of the empire's futuristic Knightmare Frame tech. The group stared in awe as they descended further towards the structure. The sun shone off the castle, making it look like pure silver. It felt like they had stepped into a fairytale of old, and judging from everything that had happened to them so far, it wouldn't be too far fetched.

The lion slowly descended towards the castle, as its eyes glowed a bright yellow, followed by the cyan blue lights of the castle lighting up as well. The lion landed at what appeared to be the entrance to the castle, and bent down with an open mouth, waiting for its passengers to exit.

"Everyone, keep your guard up," Lelouch warned them.

"Something wrong?" asked Milly.

"No, Lelouch is right," Suzaku agreed, "we were already attacked by aliens once already, we don't want that to happen again."

The group of seven cautiously exited the lion and looked around, taking in the landscape. Then suddenly the lion jolted and stood back up.

"No, no! I knew it was going to eat us! No!" Shirley shrieked as she leaped behind Lelouch. Instead of eating them though, the lion simply roared at the door loud enough to shake the ground. The door, however, glowed cyan blue in its outlines and opened, kicking up dust as it did so. It wasn't long before the castle was free to be entered.

The group looked at the entrance in a mixture of shock and awe as Shirley peaked out from behind Lelouch.

"Oh, the door is open," she spoke robotically in realization before turning to face the lion, "I guess I was wrong about you."

Deciding not to waste time investigating, they cautiously entered the castle. It was pitch black save for a few faint outlines of cyan blue along the walls, floor, and ceiling. Despite this, it was still hard to see where they were going, so they constantly bumped into each other.

"Hello?" Shirley tentatively called out after wandering around for a while. The group stopped and stared at her as if she was crazy. What if whoever was in here was dangerous? She could've just given their location away.

"You know," observed Rai as the group came to a stop at a stairwell, "from the size of the lion, I expected these steps to be bigger…"

Suddenly the room illuminated with a blue beam that shined down on the group, allowing for more of the castle's layout to be visible. The place they were in appeared to be a ballroom of sorts with the stairwell in front and glowing lanterns off to the side.

 ** _"Hold for identity scan,"_** a computerized voice spoke as rays of blue light and mist rose up from the floor, rolling over their bodies in a scanning motion. It felt like they were being covered in a warm blanket as it ran over them.

"Why are we here?" Lelouch demanded as the scan finished its job, "What do you want with us?!"

The computer didn't answer. Instead, the same mist that surrounded the group during the identity scan rose up and filtered into the unlit lanterns that lined the walls, illuminating a path that led out of the ballroom.

"I guess we're going that way," Suzaku said before following Lelouch.

The further the group walked down the halls of the castle, the more 'mist lights' seemed to turn on as if guiding them somewhere.

"Hello?" this time Milly's voice echoed throughout the castle after a while of walking. As they went further into the castle, Milly, Shirley, and even Rai seemed to take turns calling out into the darkness, hoping for signs of life.

The group walked through hallway after hallway and descended or ascended staircase after staircase until they finally reached what appeared to the center of the castle. The metallic doors leading inside slid open for them. It led to a large circular room with the center a few inches taller than the rest of the floor, and similar circles surrounding it. A central control panel stood at the head of it. Surrounding it were several pod-like objects, all with the same cyan blue outlines that matched the rest of the castle's decor.

"Where are we?" asked Rivalz, speaking for the first time since entering the castle.

"This is some kind of... control room!" Rai exclaimed in realization as the central control panel's buttons suddenly lit up. Gears shifted, and steam emerged from one side of the room, along with the sound of sliding doors opening. Two pod-like structures rose from the floor. The windows were partially transparent, allowing the group to at least see the outlines of two people inside of them. From what could be made out, it appeared to be a man and a woman.

"These-these two aren't dead are they?!" Shirley asked, mildly freaked out.

Shirley soon got her answer as the pod suddenly glowed, and steam billowed from beneath it. The blue shell that surrounded the figure seemed to dissolve into sparkles or stardust fully revealing the woman inside.

The woman inside wore a long blue and white dress, had dark-colored skin, sea-foam colored hair that descended in long waves down her back, pink crescent shapes around her eyes, as well as pointy elf-like ears with purple triangle shaped earrings. And to top it off, she had a golden circlet diadem around her forehead with a single blue gem in the center. She looked very similar to some elfish people found in some videogames on Earth.

The woman's eyes snapped open as she gasped, extending her hand as if to grab something that was in front of her, even though nothing was there.

"Father!" She cried as she stumbled out of the pod, and would've fallen if Rivalz hadn't rushed over to catch her.

The woman groaned, gripping Rivalz's arms to balance herself and looked up drowsily at the man that caught her.

Now that Rivalz had a good look at her face, he saw that the woman was quite beautiful. He blushed before flashing her one of his trademark smiles. "Well hello there~" trying to act charming.

"Who are you? Where am I?" the woman asked, speaking in a thick Britannian-like accent that would have made several of Lelouch's half-siblings jealous.

"I'm Rivalz, and you're right here in my arms," he answered smoothly. The woman looked up at him curiously.

"Your… ears."

He raised an eyebrow and looking in the direction of the body part, "Yeah…?"

"They're hideous," she said bluntly, as she stood on her own two feet he took a small step away from him, still staring at his eyes in disgust, "what's wrong with them?"

"Nothing's wrong with them!" Rivalz exclaimed defensively, "They heard exactly what you said about them-whoa!"

Rivalz was caught by surprise as the woman suddenly gripped his ear, twisted him around and forced him onto his knees as she also held his right arm behind his back. For a slim looking woman, she was incredibly strong, and Rivalz had to fight back the tears because of how hard she was holding his ear.

"Who are you?!" the woman demanded, "Where is King Alfor?! What are you doing in my castle?!"

"A giant blue lion brought us here! That's all we know!" Rivalz cried out, struggling not to break down in tears, though it was extremely hard not to with how hard his ear was being held. His suffering finally came to an end though as the woman let go and addressed the other student council members.

"How do you have the Blue Lion? What happened to its paladin?" she asked, "What are you all doing here? Unless… How long has it been?"

"Look, lady, we don't know what's going on or what the hell you're talking about!" Kallen exclaimed defensively.

"Can you tell us who you are?" asked Lelouch a little more cordially, "Maybe we can help you."

"...I am Princess Allura of planet Altea." she answered as she approached the central control panel, "I've got to find out where we are, and how long we've been asleep." Allura put her hands on both sides of the control panel, which lit up in bright cyan blue and a translucent screen appeared in the center of it.

"Okay," Suzaku said looking at the screen along with Rai, "that's how that works."

Suddenly the second pod opened as well, to reveal a tall, white-skinned man with orange hair and a bushy mustache, pointed elf-like ears and blue markings at the corners of his eyes. He gasped as he saw Rivalz.

"Ah! Enemy combatants!" the man exclaimed as he jumped from his pod and attempted to jump kick Rivalz, who quickly shifted out of the way. The act resulted in the nearly falling to the floor, but he managed to regain his balance by holding onto Allura's sleeping pod.

"Whoa, quiznack! You're lucky I have a case of the old 'sleep chamber knees.'" the man also spoke in a think Britannian accent just like Allura, "Otherwise, I'd grab your head like this, wrap you up like so - and one, two, three - sleepy time!" he said, demonstrating everything with hand gestures and snapped his fingers at the end.

"Oh yeah?" Rivalz smiled smugly, "Well before you did that, I'd," he jumped and kicked into the air in a mediocre karate move, "like that."

"Oh really? Well, how could you do that when I've already come at you with this? Ha, ha, ha, hey!" the man retaliated with fake karate moves of his own, which didn't seem to intimidate Rivalz in the slightest.

"Rivalz," Lelouch groaned in annoyance and embarrassment at the display.

"It can't be," Allura suddenly gasped.

"What is it?" the man asked, suddenly alarmed.

"We've been asleep for ten thousand years!"

o~o

(Flashback)

Everything was in flames around them. It was their 'final' battle against Zarkon, the leader of the Galra, and the Alteans had lost horribly. A purple battleship approached the castle as the face of their enemy appeared on the computer screen before them.

"Zarkon!" King Alfor growled.

"Your fleet has been destroyed Alfor, I will be there shortly to claim Voltron."

As the screen switched off, a massive purple laser shot at the castle, damaging it greatly. The castle quickly lost power.

"Father," Allura spoke to the man before, "we must form Voltron and fight before it's too late!"

"It's already too late," the king replied, "we must send the Lions away, we can't risk them falling into Zarkon's hands!"

"We can't give up hope!" Allura exclaimed desperately, hoping to change her father's mind.

"I am sorry, daughter," the king approached Allura, placing a hand on her cheek lovingly, "if all goes well, I shall see you again soon."

The last thing Allura remembered before blacking out was seeing her father's face and his voice telling her he loved her.

o~o

Allura grit her teeth, "Planet Altea and all the planets in our Solar System, have been destroyed! Coran, Father is gone, our entire civilization… Zarkon!"

"Zarkon?" everyone questioned semi-unison.

"He was the king of the Galra," Allura explained, "a vile creature, and an enemy to all free people!"

Before anyone else could comment on this, Rai suddenly gasped and then yelled, holding his head like he was in immense pain. His left eye also burned in agony for a moment as if reacting to the pain. He could hear the muffled voices of his classmates exclaim in worry as he collapsed onto his knees. Images he'd long forgotten flashed through his mind, along with the terrifying face of a monster. And suddenly, Rai remembered.

"Rai!" Shirley asked urgently, kneeling down by the blonde, "Rai, are you okay?"

"Yeah…" Rai muttered, "I-I remembered something!"

This caught everyone's attention, especially Lelouch and Milly's as they were the ones who originally found him in his amnesiac state.

"What did you remember?" asked Lelouch in curious urgency.

"That Zarkon guy… I was his prisoner!" he revealed as he gritted his teeth in hatred.

Everyone gasped at this. How was this possible? And if it was true how did Rai escape and end up at Ashford of all places?

"Are you absolutely sure Rai?" asked Milly.

"Positive," was the response.

"He's still alive?!" Allura exclaimed in shock, "Impossible!"

"I can't explain it, but it's true! He's searching for a superweapon called 'Voltron'!"

"He's searching for it because he knows it is the only thing that can defeat him," Allura explained, "and that's exactly why we must find it before he does."

o~o

Levitating purple crystals glowed in a way they hadn't in millennia. A hunched figure gasped as if she had been holding her breath for a long period of time. The woman emerged from the chamber, her eyes a bright yellow and dark indigo skin with her face dipped with red markings that descended from her eyes and long white hair flowing down behind her hood.

"The Blue Lion has returned," she reported approaching the Galra who stood by a window of the ship, proudly gazing at his fleet of ships, "and now I sense a resurgence of Altean energy."

"Alfor's daughter lives… How?" Zarkon asked, turning to the woman for answers.

"I know not… but it is time to reclaim what is rightfully ours."

"Yes, I shall wipe that foul race from the universe forever, and take back Voltron. Contact my commanders."

o~o

At another area of the universe, a few hours away from the planet Arus, where Allura's castle rested, another Galra ship was patrolling the area. The commander inside was just reattaching his mechanical arm when he was called for an audience with Zarkon.

"Commander Sendak, the Princess of Altea, is alive and is hiding in your sector; we believe she alone knows the whereabouts of the remaining Lions. Your battle fleet is the closest to her location. Retrieve her and the Lions. With them all, the Galra Empire will be unstoppable." Zarkon ordered.

"I fight for the empire," Commander Sendak replied, on bended knee, "I conquer in the name of Galra. No foe has ever stood in my way and none ever will. Vrepit sa! Set a course for Arus."

o~o

"Princess, you must eat," Coran said, "it's been ten thousand years!"

"I'm not hungry,"

"Wait, ten thousand years?" questioned Rivalz, "That's like one thousand plus ten."

"That's _times_ ten Rivalz." Kallen corrected.

"Whatever!" he shrugged.

"I haven't eaten since breakfast and I starving," Shirley said, eying the weird green alien food hovering in front of them. It didn't look like the most appetizing thing in the world, looking more like mashed up veggies covered in boogers than anything else.

"Yeah, but you've thrown up at least five times," Milly pointed out in slight disgust.

"That's true," she nodded. Unable to hold back her appetite anymore, she tentatively picking off some of the goo and tried it. The taste wasn't terrible (it didn't taste amazing either though), but the texture was definitely something to get used to. Shirley nearly gagged as the substance seemed to slide down her throat like a slimy avocado.

As Shirley and Milly were sampling the Altean food, Lelouch, Rai, and Suzaku took a moment to truly admire the details of the palace. It was simply extraordinary and far more beautiful than anything the Britannians could put together. The technology was so advanced they might as well have stepped into a sci-fi movie. At the same time though, they could definitely sense something supernatural about the castle, almost like it was alive.

"I can't believe your civilization made such advanced technology ten thousand years ago." Suzaku said in awe, "It must have been an incredible place."

"Yes, it was," Coran said sadly, "but now it is gone and we're the last Alteans alive."

Allura's eyes flooded with tears as she hugged Coran, sobs racking her body. Lelouch clenched his fists, not out of anger towards Allura, but more to himself for choosing to leave Nunnally. True the circumstances gave him little to no choice, but he may have been able to figure out something had he thought hard enough. He wouldn't be able to hold Nunnally the way Coran was holding Allura for a very long time now, if ever.

The two separated though when a squeaking sound came from the sleeping pod. She gasped in delight at seeing a small group of Altean mice waving and smiling at her. "Looks like we're not the last after all."

This was short lived though as the control panel suddenly started beeping in alarm. One of the screens glowed a bright red as a screen opened to reveal a purple Galra ship slowly approaching the planet.

"A Galra battleship has set its tracker to us!" Coran gasped.

"How did they find us?" Allura asked, holding the mice in her hands.

"Did they follow us!?" asked Rai in alarm.

"No they didn't," said another female voice coming from the control room entrance. Turning to the sound, and the group saw a green-haired woman with golden-yellow eyes wearing what appeared to be a loose straight jacket with its buckles undone.

Suzaku recognized her immediately, "Hey! You're that-"

"C.C.," Lelouch interrupted Suzaku, "what are you doing here? How did you get here?"

"I snuck onto that lion when you weren't looking. And must agree with Kallen on this one Rivalz, you're flying could use some work."

"Lelouch, who's this?" Milly asked suspiciously.

"This is C.C. We're... uh…"

"Accomplices," C.C. replied nonchalantly, "and as for why I'm here, I thought I made it clear to you, Lelouch, that I don't let my contractors die, hence why I'm accompanying you."

"Contractor? Lelouch, what's she talking about," Shirley asked accusingly.

"We can discuss that later," C.C. answered before Lelouch could, "if I'm not mistaken, we have an alien ship about to attack this castle correct? How long before they arrive exactly?"

Suzaku gave both C.C. and Lelouch a look that clearly said 'we WILL discuss this later,' along with similar looks from most of the others, Allura and Coran included.

Coran though did answer C.C.'s question, "At their speed, let's see... carry the two... I-I'd say maybe a couple of days?"

"Good," Allura said with a determined look before looking at the seven Britannians, Honorary, Half-Blooded, and Full-blooded, "let them come, by the time they get here, you seven will have reformed Voltron, and together, we will destroy Zarkon's empire."

"Princess," Lelouch said, getting right down to business, "if there are seven of these lions, how are we going to find the rest?"

Allura didn't say anything as she put the mice back down. She led the group to the main bridge of the castle and walked towards the center of the room. A large crystal directly above her head shone down with a brilliant blue light around her. She closed her eyes in concentration.

"King Alfor connected the Lions to Allura's life force," Coran explained, "she alone is the key to the Lions' whereabouts."

Allura's eyes suddenly opened again, and the blue beam expanded around her. As a result, they separated into multiple particles surrounding the room and engulfing everyone in it. The lights dimmed, allowing only the blue lights to be visible. That is when everyone realized that the particles were stars. They were standing in a 3-D model of the entire universe.

"These are… coordinates!" Rai suddenly realized, seeing all the stars and planets floating around them.

"Hey look," Suzaku said, seeing an image of the Blue and Black Lions side by side on one of the planets, "the Black Lion looks like in the same location as the Blue Lion."

"Look at your primitive synapses firing away in their little brain cage," Coran commented, seemingly quite impressed how smart this simple human truly was. Suzaku seemed to catch on to what Coran was saying though, and to put it simply, he wasn't that amused.

"Very observant," Allura said with a warm smile, "that's because the Black Lion is in the castle."

"To keep the Black Lion out of Zarkon's hands, King Alfor locked it in the castle," Coran explained, "it can only be freed if the other six lions are present."

"As you've found, the Lions choose their pilots," Allura further explained, "it is a mystical bond, and can not be forced. The quintessence of the pilot is mirrored in their lion. Together, they form something greater than science can explain."

The princess moved her hand swiftly, having the coordinates move in one direction as if on a computer screen, the image of the Black Lion floated in front of them, but slowly approached Lelouch, "The Black Lion is the decisive head of Voltron. It will take a pilot who is a born leader, and in control at all times. Someone whose men will follow without hesitation. That is why Lelouch, you will pilot the Black Lion."

Allura waved her hand again, and this time the image of a green lion appeared, next to a planet that seemed to be covered in a lush green jungle. "The Green Lion has an inquisitive personality and needs a pilot of intellect and daring. Rai, you will pilot the Green Lion."

"The Blue Lion," Rivalz smirked cockily at the mention of his lion, "is the most confident and friendliest of the Lions. Relying on optimism of the situation to keep the team together. As you already do, Rivalz, you will pilot the Blue Lion."

"Called it!" Rivalz smirked.

"The Orange Lion is caring and kind," Allura continued as the image of another lion appeared by what looked more like a meteor than a planet, and hovered in front of Shirley, "its pilot is the one who puts the needs of others above their own. Their heart must be mighty. As the leg of Voltron, you will lift the team up and hold them together."

"Me?!" Shirley squeaked in alarm, pointing to herself.

"The Yellow Lion is the most diligent of the Lions," a yellow lion appeared by a planet that seemed to shine like stars by Milly, "knowing when goals must be accomplished and when keeping the others focused on their goal. Milly, the pilot of the Yellow Lion will be you." Milly hummed in thought, as the lion did seem to match her personality in the 'getting things done' department.

"The Purple Lion is the most honorable of the Lions," Allura said as she materialized the image of the Purple Lion, though it wasn't connected to any coordinates, "That is also why it is one of the more difficult ones to control. The one who pilots it must be someone who is not ashamed of their beliefs and is willing to stay true to them as well. Because of this, Suzaku, the Purple Lion will be piloted by you."

At the mention of beliefs and values, no one, except C.C., noticed how Lelouch seemed to glare subtly at Suzaku. It appeared he was still bitter about how Suzaku refused to join the Black Knights after they went through the trouble of rescuing him.

'This could become a problem,' C.C. thought to herself.

"The Red Lion is temperamental and the most difficult to master," just like with the Purple Lion, Allura allowed the Red Lion to materialize, but there weren't any coordinates, "it's faster and more agile than the others, but also more unstable. Its pilot needs to be someone who relies more on instincts than skill alone," the Red Lion hovered in front of Kallen, "Kallen, you will pilot the Red Lion."

"What?!" exclaimed Shirley in disbelief, along with most of the other student council members, "Kallen? Seriously?!" Though their disbelief was understandable, as Kallen had yet to reveal that 'Kallen Stadtfeld' was just a front and that she was. Kallen Kozuki, a terrorist, and elite knightmare pilot.

"Unfortunately, I can not locate the coordinates to the Red or Purple Lions yet. There must be something wrong with the castle. After ten thousand years, it might need to some work."

"Don't worry, we'll find them soon," Coran said, "they don't call me 'the Coranic' for nothing… It's because it sounds like 'mechanic', so uh… Coranic… Mechanic. It's not- it doesn't sound exactly like it, it's similar."

All seven of the lions suddenly came to life, roared, before running around their respective pilots and shooting off into the sky like shooting stars. Everyone shielded their eyes as the lights of the castle allowed Arus's natural light to enter the room. They watched in awe as the legendary hero himself stood before with all the colors of their respective lions, the head of the black lion revealing his face, wielding a magnificent sword.

"Once all the Lions are united, you will form Voltron, the most powerful warrior ever known. The Defender of the Universe!"

The image of the warrior vanished into sparkles, leaving everyone watching in shock, wonder, and even a little fear. Though the robotic warrior was far more impressive than any knightmare frame model they've seen, it was still intimidating to know that the seven of them would be the ones piloting it. Even Suzaku was nervous even though he was the pilot of one of the most advanced knightmare frames in the world right now. Sure the Lancelot he could handle, but a giant robotic lion? Would it feel the same way or not?

"Awesome!" Rivalz exclaimed as a brief moment of silence.

"Wait. Okay, so we're going to be in there and flying lions," Shirley spoke, "got that part. How do I insert in the legs? Also, is this going to be a long trip? And if it is, should I use the toilet first? You guys have those right?"

"We don't have much time," Lelouch said, taking command as he was to be the 'leader' of Voltron, "Milly and I will go after the Yellow Lion. Rivalz, you take Shirley and get the Orange one," he glanced at C.C., "C.C., will you go with Rai and get the Green Lion?"

"If I must," the immortal shrugged nonchalantly.

"Suzaku, Kallen, you two stay here. When you find the Purple and/or Red Lions go get them." the two of them nodded in understanding.

"In the meantime, I'll get the Castle's defenses ready," Allura said, "they'll be sorely needed."

"I'll ready some pods, and load in the coordinates so you can reach the Green and Yellow Lions," Coran spoke as he proceeded to do just that.

Milly, Lelouch, Rai, and C.C. followed Coran to the pods that he prepared for their journeys. They had sleek silver vehicle outlines with neon blue around the edges that seemed to be a trademark of the castle. While they loaded in, Shirley and Rivalz returned to the Blue Lion.

After the two groups got settled in the pods, he handed Milly and Rai a device, "These are the coordinates for the Lions you'll be looking for. Once you land, they should lead you right to them."

Rai, being the most techno-savvy of the group pressed a blue button on the device. It caused a screen to pop up that had the image of the planet where the Green Lion was located. Milly followed the action, seeing where the Yellow Lion was.

Shortly after it wasn't long before the three teams were launched into the atmosphere of Arus, two in pods and the other in the Blue Lion. Lelouch and C.C. piloted the pods as Milly and Rai sat in the passenger seats. A computer screen soon appeared in front of them with Coran's face on it. The same happened for Shirley and Rivalz in the Blue Lion.

"We can only keep the wormholes that lead to the other Lions open for about two of your Earth hours," Coran explained to them, as the wormholes opened in front of them, shimmering like the ocean in the evening "so you'll have to be quick about your work. The good news is, according to my readings, all three planets are relatively peaceful. So if you do get stuck, they could be relaxing places to live out the rest of your lives."

"Wait, what?!/Say what?!/Come again?!" were the responses that followed, none of them realizing that Coran was joking as they could easily locate the Blue Lion, and the two pods also had tracking devices in them.

"Well enjoy the trip!"

"Wait a minute!/Hold on!/I did not receive the memo for this!" the protests went silent as the pods and lion disappeared in the wormholes.

o~o

AN: Chapter 3 out! Allura, Coran, AND C.C. have made an appearance. Hope you all enjoyed it and that this answered some questions you may have had. If there is anything that still isn't clear to you, please let me know in the comments or PM me, and I'll answer it to the best of my abilities.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Will get next update Friday, Saturday at the latest. R&R!

Review Replies:

DigiXBot: Yep! I'm going to have a blast writing this, and I hope you have a blast reading this.

TFG: Well you should have your answer to the first question, more on Rai's backstory will be revealed in later chapters. And of course, C.C. has made her appearance.

TempestLaw: Yeah, I thought Rivalz worked best with Blue as well, it's also kind of funny how I paired the lions and pilots (Brownie points if you notice as well). I'm mostly taking from the Voltron script but I did try to mold it so it fits each character.

Benjustice: Yep! Well now you know, hope they all make sense to you.

degundam00: Thanks so much, hope you continue to enjoy!


	4. Chapter 4: Rise of Voltron Part 4

Chapter 4: Rise of Voltron Part 4

Lelouch and Milly's planet looked almost like a giant diamond from afar, the entire planet's surface shined like a thirty-carat jewel on a ring.

"Oh!" Milly swooned as the planet's sun glimmered off of it, "What I wouldn't pay to have that as my wedding ring."

"Milly focus," Lelouch chastised, "we're here to find a giant lion, not admire the scenery."

"Such a spoilsport Lulu," Milly slightly pouted but then became serious, "seriously though, who's that C.C. character. What sort of name is 'C.C.' anyway?"

"Milly-" Lelouch sighed in exasperation as they pod landed on the surface, "look… I'll explain everything later; right now we need to focus on the objective."

Milly scoffed as the two exited the pod. The grass and vegetation that surrounded them shared the same glimmer, and shining metallic glow as crystal, even some of the different bugs they spotted scurrying in the grass sparkled the same way. Far off to the left appeared to be a city made out of the crystal spires if the hole-like windows within them were any indication.

"It's like we landed on a living diamond," Lelouch observed as Milly activated the device Coran gave to them, "at least the air breathable. Which way to the Lion?"

"Um… looks like a few kilometers this way," Milly said as she started heading towards a bedazzled forest to the right.

"At least most of this is flat ground…" Lelouch muttered so Milly couldn't hear.

After about a half hour of walking along the forest path, they came across another crystal spire village, this time, however, they were close enough to spot some of the natives. They could make out three different types of people. One looked exactly like them. Another had pointed ears very similar to Allura and Coran's species; the only difference was that they had large feathered wings on their back in different colors from speckled to stable. The third looked like a water creature, with scales lining their arms and legs, webbed hands, and… were those gills on their necks? One thing that they all had in common though was that they all sparkled the same way that the crystal surrounding them did.

"Hope we're not trespassing like this…" Milly muttered nervously.

"Do we have to go through the village to get to the Lion Milly?" Lelouch asked.

"Well," Milly said, looking at the map, "we can go around, but the fastest way is through the village, yes."

Lelouch bit his lip thinking about the best course of action. They had already been on the planet for a half-hour, meaning they had another ninety Earth minutes, they had no idea how much farther the Lion was, "We have no choice; hopefully, they won't ask too many questions."

"What type of questions?"

Milly and Lelouch jumped at the voice from behind them. Turning around they saw that a fish-like and a bird-like native had somehow snuck up on them. They both had blue hair and gold eyes, the wings on the bird-like native a mix of mahogany and brown like a Kestrel.

"Are you two aliens?" asked the fish-like native asked innocently.

"Err… well," Lelouch blushed, not quite sure how to answer.

"Were you sent by the Great Lion?" asked the bird-like native after he saw the device in Milly's hands.

"The Great Lion?" asked Milly, suddenly interested where this was going.

"Uh-huh!" the boys nodded, the fish-like being continued, "the Great Lion lives on that hill on the other side of the village. No one knows how long she's been there, but just yesterday the light that surrounds her shined brighter than ever."

"The light that surrounds her?" Lelouch asked.

"Yup! Over yonder! The Lion's light protects our kingdom from the evil that curses the heavens." the bird-boy proclaimed.

Lelouch and Milly looked at one another; this certainly sounded like the Galra Empire. Had the Galra tried to attack this planet before? Did this lion have some power that kept the Galra away?

"Can you take us to this Great Lion?" Milly asked with a friendly smile, "My friend and I are here to see it."

"Why?" asked the fish-boy, "Why do you want to see the Great Lion?"

"Well young man," Milly bent down on her knees and smiled 'that' smile. Lelouch instantly knew that Milly had this covered, "what if we told you that are more lions like your 'Great Lion' out there?"

The boys didn't answer; they only looked at the blonde in wonder. Was it true? Were there more lions?

"And… what if we told you that the sisters of the 'Great Lion' need her help? And without her, the darkness that is kept from this world will spread to others? Once she has rejoined them, they can destroy this darkness forever and ever?"

"And you have come to bring the 'Great Lion' to her sisters?" asked the bird-boy.

"Yes," Lelouch joined in, "if you take us to her, we can reunite them. Wouldn't you want to see your family again after thousands of years apart?"

It seemed to convince the two boys of how important the 'Great Lion' was, and if there were more of them out there, that meant more protection for their planet.

"Destroy the darkness? That would be a glorious day!" bird-boy exclaimed in excitement, before pulling Milly's hand, "Come! We'll take you to her!"

Lelouch and Milly smiled in accomplishment. This may be easier than they thought.

o~o

Just like Milly and Lelouch, C.C. and Rai were having little to no trouble on their planet either, but unlike the diamond planet, the world they landed on was covered in thick forest and swamp, filled with a large amount of familiar and unfamiliar flora and fauna.

As they exited the pod, Rai led the way, keeping his eyes on the device at all times, although he did send curious glances at C.C. every now and again.

"Something on your mind?" she finally asked after Rai glanced at her for about the seventh time.

"Huh?!" Rai sputtered, nearly dropping the device, "Wh-what are you talking about."

"Well I'm sure you aren't glancing back at me just for giggles, this is about what happened back at the Castle isn't it?"

"We-well yes, I-I mean you did just sneak onto the Blue Lion without us noticing, and Lelouch and Suzaku are the only ones that seemed to recognize you so-"

"I've already told you that Lelouch and I will explain everything to you when we retrieve these lions. Better for it to be repeated once than multiple times, facts could get mixed up."

"I guess…" Rai muttered as they continued walking. They walked for about another ten minutes before the bushes to their right rustled. Rai jumped back in alarm before a creature leaped out before them that seemed to look like a mixture between a rabbit, chipmunk, and… caterpillar?

C.C. smirked, "Careful boy, I hear they can smell fear."

"Heh, guess I'm a little jumpy," Rai laughed.

They continued through the jungle until they came to a calm river. However, what Rai was more interested in was the canoe parked on the shore. It looked like any other ordinary canoe except that the head of it was in the shape of a roaring lion. They heard a moan to their left, turning to their left they saw what appeared to be an oversized sloth, almost as tall as Coran.

C.C. blinked in surprise at its size while Rai yelped and leaped behind her for cover. She rolled her eyes as if to say, 'Oh what a gentleman, letting the woman fight his battles.' The sloth didn't attack them though and only seemed to study them curiously as Rai peaked out from behind C.C's shoulder. Really, how dangerous could a sloth be anyway?

"It's just a… whatever that thing is…" Rai said.

"A giant sloth?" C.C. asked bluntly.

"...Maybe?"

The sloth then seemed to notice the device in Rai's hand before smiling and walking over to the canoe. It then made a gesture to follow him.

"I-I think he wants us to get in his canoe," Rai said.

"Then let's go," C.C. said as he walked towards the sloth. Seeing Rai's hesitation, C.C continued, "I think we can both agree that compared to everything that's happened to both of us, this is close to nothing."

Seeing her point, Rai followed behind the green-haired witch to the canoe. Extending his paw like a gentleman the sloth helped C.C. into the boat and Rai followed right behind. Once they settled, the sloth began rowing the canoe gently down the river. As they proceeded down, more of the rabbit-squirrel-caterpillar critters popped out from the hedge surrounding them. They seemed to wave and sing to them in harmony as they glided along. C.C. couldn't help but giggle at how adorable they were, and even Rai smiled as well. They entered a stone archway that led into a long tunnel, and the top of the entrance had a very similar picture of a lion like the ones they first saw in the cave back on Earth. The sloth-thing certainly seemed to know why they were here and what they were looking for.

"I wonder if Lelouch, Milly, Rivalz, and Shirley are having as good a time as us?" Rai wondered out loud.

o~o

"WAAAAAHHHHH!"

"NONONONONONONONO!"

Unlike Lelouch, Milly, C.C., and Rai, Shirley and Rivalz's planet was anything BUT peaceful! They had arrived on the asteroid shaped planet just as the others had but were almost immediately shot down by Galra fighter jets. The 'peaceful' planet they had been sent to had been made into a mining colony for the Galra, and they just so happened to be trespassing. They were both currently screaming their heads off as Rivalz struggled to steer the Blue Lion out of range of the Galra lasers and missiles. However, it didn't take long for one of the missiles fired to hit the Blue Lion causing it to start crashing towards the surface. Fortunately, Rivalz managed to regain the Blue Lion's balance inches before they hit the ground, and the chase was at it again.

"I THOUGHT CORAN SAID THESE PLANETS WERE PEACEFUL?!" Shirley screamed hysterically.

"MAYBE 'PEACEFUL' MEANS SOMETHING ELSE IN ALTEAN!" Rivalz replied nearly in the same hysterics as Shirley.

After regaining balance once again, Shirley took a moment to activate the device with the coordinates. "Uh, according to these coordinates, we're right on top of the Orange Lion," she looked out the screen of the lion to see the opening to one of the mines that the Galra robots were heavily guarding, the lion had pulled up a zoomed-in image of the entrance, "It's below there where they're mining for the ore. They don't even know the Lion is there… or maybe they just got here, and they're digging for the Lion? I don't know, what do you think Rivalz?"

"Who cares? Just go get it! I'm dropping you down there!"

Shirley paled, "Me? Down there? No, no, nononono…!" she shook her head vigorously.

Rivalz gritted his teeth, "Yes, I'll cover you!" he gripped the controls and soared towards the entrance, dodging the laser blasts left and right, and those that did hit did little to no damage to the lion's mechanical body. When it hit the ground, it charged towards the cave entrance, crushing robots beneath its paws in the process.

Shirley, however, was having a full-on panic attack, "We-well what if the Orange Lion doesn't work? Wh-what if I- what if I can't get in the mine? What if I start crying? It's too late; I'm already crying!"

Rivalz could only send her a nervous, sympathetic look, "Sorry Shirley, no time for questions!" Rivalz then hit a button on the dashboard, and Shirley disappeared into the floor screaming. It felt like one of those waterslides where the floor vanished beneath your feet before the ride began, and just the anticipation of waiting for it to open made Shirley hate those slides. This felt ten times worse, considering that immediately after she was spat out of the Blue Lion's mouth onto the hard stone surface of the planet, narrowly avoiding hitting her head on a rock as she rolled to a stop at the cave's entrance.

A series of lasers immediately came shooting towards her, but Rivalz and the Blue Lion quickly blocked them. Scared out of her mind, but not wasting this distraction, she scampered to the platform that would lead her further into the mine. Fortunately, she remembered her dad had taught her how to hardwire a car if hers, or a friend's, ever didn't work for some reason, so it was easy for her to find the generator and start tampering with the electrical wires.

"Oh sure just drop me off on an alien planet, that's cool Rivalz, a great way to treat a lady," she angrily muttered to herself she picked and pulled wires, "it's only occupied with mean purple aliens that want to kill me but whatever. Just ignore them and go connect with a big, orange mechanical cat! Easy-peasy! Yeah, that makes total sense! Perfect sense!"

At some point in her rambling, she managed to make the cart work as it jerked down into the mine. As it proceeded down, the tunnel began to light up in orange colored markings of a lion just like on Earth. As Shirley gazed at the images all of the fear she felt before began to fade away.

"Wow… cool!"

When the cart stopped at the bottom of the tunnel, Shirley quickly rushed out and leaped behind a pillar that the Galra had put in place to keep the cave from collapsing. It seemed the Galra had already made themselves at home on this planet. Along the walls of the tunnel though were more pictures of lions, it appeared that Shirley was in the right place. The roof above her shook as sounds of the fight above continued; it seemed Rivalz was keeping them busy for now, but for how long?

"Okay, I'm in a giant hole. Now what Shirley?" she asked herself. If she remembered correctly, all Rivalz had to do was touch the lion drawings and then they started glowing. She didn't notice there were drawings on the floor as well until she stepped forward to reach the wall marking, unknowingly stepping on a floor drawing. The orange glow appeared once again, startling her. Turning around she saw two more lion drawings, the one she had stepped on and another further away from it. Then on the wall across from her appeared to end in a circular symbol on the wall.

"Oh… pretty! Now how do I get through that?" she asked herself before turning around to see a giant drilling machine becoming visible thanks to the cave's glow, "Hmm… that'll work!"

o~o

While Shirley got busy trying to get the drill to work, Rivalz and the Blue Lion got hit with another blast from the Galra cruisers. Rivalz prayed Shirley didn't take much longer as he was having a hard time keeping these guys at bay. Glancing back, Rivalz saw that one blast hit a little too close to the cave entrance, only to realize that they were aiming for that the entire time!

In desperation, he shot the Blue Lion into the air, which then used its tail cannons to blast them out of the sky.

'Hurry up Shirley!'

o~o

Back on Lelouch and Milly's planet, the two native children had led the pair to a path that led up the mountain. Lelouch groaned at the number of steps they would have to take just to get there. As they approached the levels though, Milly and Lelouch noticed that the two children had stopped moving, as if they were hesitant to keep going.

"Why'd you stop?" asked Lelouch.

"We are forbidden to go further than this," the bird-boy explained, "only those called by the Great Lion can climb the steps."

"And since you are the ones the Lion called, you must approach the steps." the fish-boy said.

Lelouch and Milly looked at each other with raised eyebrows. These people seemed a bit too superstitious even for them. Their trains of thought were cut short though when the steps to the stairs, mainly the pictures of the lions themselves started glowing a bright yellow. It left not just Milly and Lelouch in awe, but the native boys as well, and had they taken a step back from the mountain, they would have seen that the whole thing in its entirety was lighting up in bright yellow light.

"I think that's your cue, Milly…" Lelouch said as Milly nodded in agreement, before smiling and started skipping up the stone steps.

"The mountain has never done this before!" the bird-boy exclaimed in wonder.

"The Great Lion is excited!" the fish-boy added.

Lelouch could only smile at their innocence.

Milly was panting a little as she made it up to the last flight of stairs. When she made it to the top though, there wasn't anything there. There was only a large stone carving of the lion at the very center. Walking towards it, she hummed in thought. Shouldn't the lion be here?

Milly then yelped as the ground beneath her began to rumble, the craving of the lion lighting up and slipping apart the floor. Milly quickly leaped to one side avoid doing the splits. When the top was completely open, Milly looked apprehensively down, seeing only darkness. Raising her eyebrow, she expected to see the lion. She lifted her head and looked around, was something else supposed to happen?

Milly then shivered as she felt a soft purr echo from the hole, and immediately it filled with light so bright, Milly had to cover her eyes not to be blinded. Also, any apprehension that she felt before wholly vanished as well as she grinned and leaped into the hole, knowing full well her lion was waiting for her.

"YAHOOOOOOO!"

Down below, Lelouch and the two children stumbled as the ground shook beneath them. Looking up they see that the top of the mountain might as well look like a separate sun. Finally, out of the 'sun' emerged a stunning yellow feline mecha appeared, the light itself had seemed to radiate off of it. Lelouch could only smile while the two boys looked on, their eyes sparkling in awe. In the distance, in the village where the boys lived, a chorus of cheers filled the air.

o~o

Back on the 'meteorite' planet, below the surface, Shirley finally managed to get the drill thing to work, and it wasn't long before the wall in front of her came tumbling down. Jumping off, she could stare in wonder at what was in front of her. Just like with the Blue Lion on Earth, the Orange Lion was also within a forcefield of the same color. Its eyes glowed a bright yellow and seemed to have a little bit of red outlining on its plating. She also noticed that compared to the Blue Lion, this lion seemed to have much more armor on, reminding her of the more heavily armored Glasgow compared to the Sutherlands that were made more for close combat.

Out of everyone in the Student Council Shirley was the one who got scared the easiest (besides Nina), however looking up at the lion, she strangely didn't feel fear at all, in fact, she felt completely safe and calm as if the Lion was assuring her of just that. Slowly, she began to approach the particle barrier that surrounded it.

"Okay you can do this," Shirley told herself. She got closer and, though feeling a little ridiculous doing so, waved at it, "Um… hi, I'm Shirley, and I guess I'm supposed to be your pilot… so um… yeah, I'm going to get you out of here… I hope…"

Shirley honestly wasn't quite sure what to do. When they found the Blue Lion on Earth, all Rivalz had to do was tap on the particle barrier and POOF, the lion was free. She figured that would be the best place to start. So she tentatively touched the forcefield, and just like Rivalz, it reacted, glowing just as brightly as the one on Earth, releasing the Lion for the first time in a millennium.

o~o

Gritting his teeth, Rivalz spun in the air and proceeded to dive-bomb the Galra cruisers that continued to attack the cave. The Blue Lion let out a roar as it's jaws enclosed around the wing of one, ripping it off before it exploded. Hovering in the air, the lion continued to shoot down any cruisers it saw with its tail cannon. Turning around, Rivalz's blood ran cold. Their next action made Rivalz's blood run cold.

"Oh no!" he shouted as he saw several cruisers aiming all of their ammunition at the cave entrance and around it. They were going bury Shirley alive along with the Lion! Desperate, Rivalz raced after them, shooting as many down as he could, but one missile managed to fire just as the cruiser blew up, and there was no stopping its trajectory!

"SHIRLEY!" Rivalz screamed in horror as the missile made contact with the entrance, causing a massive explosion, thick black and red clouds of smoke filling the area, blocking the view of what happened. Sweat dripped down Rivalz neck, and his eyes could only look in horror as it finally cleared to not only reveal that the entrance had been sealed…

But half the mountain had collapsed into itself.

o~o

For Rai, it felt like the river they were on went on for miles as and miles, and if there was one thing that Rai did know, even in his partially amnesiac state, was that he hated waiting! And when he was forced to wait, thoughts would start forming in his head with no control whatsoever, as a mob of hungry koi fish receiving their daily meal.

"I know the Princess said that this is supposed to be my Lion, but what if she's wrong? I mean, she's probably not wrong. She's a princess, but I'm not a pilot, even though... I've always wanted to be a pilot. I mean, I read all the fighter manuals, but never got to do the simulator. But, hey, I can't be all that worse than Rivalz.-"

As the teen continued to ramble, the sloth looked at C.C. as if to ask 'Is he always like this?' in which C.C. only shrugged in response as she had never gotten close to Rai until now. The canoe, however, continued down the stream into another long cave with more lion carvings on the side and green moss growing along the walls.

"-but what if I get in there and it doesn't respond? What if I get in there and it's too big, and my feet don't touch the pedals? WHAT IF THERE AREN'T EVEN PEDALS?!"

"Well if you keep rambling like that you're going to get more than just your tongue in a knot," C.C. said with an amused smirk. Rai blushed in embarrassment. C.C. continued, "I might not know much about this Voltron that Allura speaks of, but I do believe that you, Lelouch, and the others were brought here for a reason. If Allura believes the Green Lion is to be piloted by you, I see little reason to doubt her."

C.C. couldn't see Rai's face as his back faced her, but the teen now had a small smile of reassurance on his face, taking a little bit of comfort in her words. Before he could say thank you though, a small gasp appeared as they finally approached the end of the river. The path that led away from it had thick curved vines and trees in the way, and the middle was what appeared to be a sizeable ancient temple also covered mostly in vines.

After the boat docked on the shore, the pair departed the waving thank you to the strange sloth that escorted them. They approached the stone temple, passing by two more large lion statues on the way. The markings on the ground they also saw started to glow bright green as if sensing Rai's presence, creating a trail that led up the stairs of the temple.

As the two walked closer to the temple more markings appeared on the steps, until they led into the most significant cluster of vines at the top. Rai seemed completely entranced as they stopped at the bottom like something was calling to him. Rai then swallowed, hesitation still very present in his head.

"Well?" asked C.C., smirking and folding her arms, "What are you waiting for?"

Hearing C.C.'s 'encouraging' words, Rai quickly shook the nervousness away and ran at full speed up the steps to the top. After the stairs ended, he then proceeded to climb up the vast vines, some with quite a bit of difficulty because of how large they were. He was panting as hard as Lelouch would be after a light run when he finally reached the top. After taking a moment to catch his breath, Rai looked around, suddenly confused, there was nothing up her but vines.

Rai was about in disappointment a low growl was heard right below him. Looking down, he greeted was soon greeted by a brightly glowing green light. He could feel the energy radiating from it. Grinning he leaped down into the mess of vines, the lights shining brighter after he landed.

"WHOO-HOO-HOOOOO!" he cheered.

Back on the ground, C.C. was leaning against the pillars that led up to the temple, when suddenly the ground beneath her shook, and a roar filled the air, making her stumble at first. Looking up in bewilderment, she saw that at the top of the temple the vines had begun to glow and shake before they suddenly dispersed revealing a huge green lion was rising in the air with glowing yellow eyes.

In spite of herself, C.C. couldn't help but give an impressed smirk as the wind blew her long green hair back.

"What did I tell you?"

o~o

Back on the meteorite planet, Rivalz was quickly beginning to panic. Now that the cave had been destroyed, presumably killing Shirley at the same time, the Galra forces stationed there were focusing all their firepower on him now as he struggled to outmaneuver them with the Blue Lion. Gritting his teeth, Rivalz attempted to turn around and fire at the ships again, only for the Lion to get shot down by more lasers. He was completely overwhelmed!

"Oh no, no, no! Going down! We're going down!" Rivalz panicked as they crashed to the ground. In desperation, he pulled the controls as hard as he could, which managed to have the lion roll along the ground and land upright, but it was still fairly damaged as it attempted to rise. Red warning lights flashed everywhere inside the cockpit. Rivalz shook his head as he had been jostled during the fall, only to look through the screen to see several missiles heading towards him.

"Oh no!" he gasped. He could only close his eyes and look away, awaiting death and hoping it would be painless.

Just as the missiles were about to strike though, a massive mechanical beast came shooting out of the ground, landing between the Blue Lion and the rockets, which promptly exploded on the impact of the new arrival. From the clouds of smoke, a massive Orange Lion came clambering out before leaping into the air and crushing the Galra cruisers beneath it, causing them to explode.

It stood up and turned to face the Blue Lion. "Rivalz, you okay?"

Rivalz gasped, "Shirley! I thought you were dead! You jumped in front of all those shots to save my life?!"

Promptly a screen appeared in front of Rivalz to show Shirley in the cockpit of the Orange Lions. It looked identical to the one Rivalz was in, except the seat, all of the gadgets and buttons inside were orange colored. She didn't appear to be hurt, if only a little frazzled, she must have been in the Lion already when the mountain caved in.

"Well, actually I was trying to get out of the way. Thankfully, what this thing lacks in speed more than makes up for in armor, and man can it take a beating!"

The conversation was brought to a halt though when more Galra cruisers came flying down, shooting lasers at the two lions.

"We got incoming!" Shirley exclaimed, looking towards the shots with her lion.

The two prepared to engage the enemy again when another screen popped up, this time in both their lions. It was Allura. "Paladins! Please hurry back! I can't hold the wormhole much longer!"

Rivalz didn't need to be told twice, "Let's get out of here!" he exclaimed as he and Shirley blasted off into the air with their lions the wormhole straight ahead. About halfway there though, Shirley felt herself jolt forward as she was hit by one of the cruisers, causing her lion to spin as it continued upwards.

"Oh no not again!" she nearly wailed as she felt nausea begin again. She put her hand over her mouth in an attempt to keep the food down.

"Keep it together Shirley, the wormhole's closing!" Rivalz said, just as the lions made into them before it closed behind them.

o~o

The control room doors slid open as Shirley and Rivalz walked in, both groaning. Shirley was holding her head while Rivalz massaged his lower back. Lelouch, Milly, C.C., and Rai were already there waiting for them, alongside Suzaku, Kallen, Allura, and Coran.

"You made it!" Allura said with relief as they entered.

"Yeah," Rivalz said flexing his arm, "Just barely, that was a nightmare! I almost puked out there! I felt like Shirley!"

"Think how I felt," Shirley retorted, "I am Shirley!"

"Yeah," Milly smiled, looking at Lelouch, "we had a tough time too," Lelouch smirked in amusement. C.C. rolled her eyes as Rai giggled a little.

"Did we find the Purple and Red Lions yet?" asked Lelouch.

"Allura just located it," Coran said, "there's a bit of good news and bad news. The Good news is that both lions are in the same place and nearby. The bad news is, they're onboard that Galra ship that's now orbiting Arus… but wait! Good news again; we're Arus!"

Lelouch's eyes widened in shock, as did everyone else's, "They're here already?!"

"I thought you said it would take them two days to get here! Not two hours!" Kallen exclaimed in anger.

"Apologies," Coran said, "it seems my calculations were a bit off. Finger counting is more of an art than a science."

His explanation though was cut short as a large screen appeared in front of them, drawing everyone's attention to it. The image that appeared showed a purple colored alien, one of the Galra. Much like the rest of his kind, he had purple fur and skin, long catlike ears, and in his right eye was what appeared to be a large round mechanical eye. His left eye had no pupil and was completely yellow. He had a strong muscular physique making him look very intimidating.

"Princess Allura, this is Commander Sendak of the Galra Empire," the Galra addressed them, earning several gasps from many in the castle. Lelouch and Kallen were only ones who didn't seem afraid of him, only glaring at the Galra in defiance. The way he addressed them reminded Lelouch and Kallen far too much of the nobles of Britannia back home. The very thought made their blood boil.

Right there and then, Lelouch vowed he would do absolutely everything in his power to stop the Galra, even if it cost him his life.

"I come on behalf of Emperor Zarkon, ruler of the known universe. I am here to confiscate the Lions. Turn them over to me, or I will destroy your planet."

o~o

AN: Well here's chapter 4, out today like I promised!

I got inspiration on Milly and Lelouch's planet from the Crystal Empire from MLP. Just imagine the inhabitants having the same crystal design as the crystal ponies.

Chapter 5 will take a little longer as I still need to watch that part of the episode, but I'll try to have it out by next Saturday. Hope you enjoy this while you wait though!

Review Replies:

Benjustice: Well here it is now! I hope you enjoyed it!

Archangel Igneel: I describe how Voltron looks in the second chapter. Though I will tell you again, the red and green lions still make the arms and hand, the orange and blue lions make up the feet and shins, the yellow and purple lions knees and upper legs, and the black lion makes up the head and body. I hope that makes sense.

dsgundam00: Thanks! Season-wise, it will stay right through the first Voltron season, but it might go on its course near the middle or beginning of the second season as there are a few elements I want to add. We'll see how it goes as more Voltron seasons come out!

TempestLaw: I know right? Yeah, that was one of my favorite lines as well!

Wild Arms: Yes, Lelouch is in the Black Lion.

TFG (Guest): Yep, something happened to Rai... you'll have to wait and find out! Well here are their adventures here.

A fan (Guest): Glad you enjoyed it! Stay tuned!


	5. Chapter 5: Rise of Voltron Part 5

Chapter 5: Rise of Voltron Part 5

"Alright, let's not panic!" Lelouch said as soon as Sendak's transmission ended.

"Not panic?" Shirley asked, her voice already shaking, "Th-the scary purple alien thing is driving his battleships toward us. We only got five lions-"

"Technically only four working lions," Suzaku pointed out.

"That's right, thank you Suzaku. Four working lions, and a castle that like ten thousand years old!"

"Actually, it's ten thousand, six hundred years old," Coran informed them and adjusted his collar as if about to give an important presentation. He always loved speaking about his proud family line, "you see it was built by my grandfather-"

"Thanks, Coran, thank you for that," Shirley interrupted, pinching Coran's lips shut, much to the man's shock and disappointment, "See? Now is the perfect time to panic!"

"No, it isn't!" Milly argued back, "If anything now's the time to put our heads together and come up with a plan! We won't win this battle if we act like a bunch of wild dogs chasing their tails."

"Wait!" Allura exclaimed in realization, "This castle has a particle barrier we can activate!"

"Okay," said Kallen, "and how long will that hold?"

Coran pulled up an outline of the Galra ship on the screen in front of them. The main cannon on the battleship highlighted in red. "The barrier won't hold Sendak's ion cannon forever. The Galra technology must have advanced since we fought them last."

"Panic now?" asked Shirley, still trembling.

"No," Lelouch said firmly, "we just need to figure out our plan of attack, and figure it out fast." Lelouch's brain was working in overdrive to try and figure this out. However, there were so many unknown factors; he was having a hard time thinking of a plan. After all, this would technically be their first official battle with the Galra, he didn't count their scrimmage on Earth or Rivalz and Shirley's retrieval mission since the first didn't count as a 'battle,' and Lelouch wasn't present in the later.

Rivalz spoke up, raising his hand, "I say we pop through a wormhole and live to fight another day."

"I second that, yes," Shirley agreed immediately, "I mean we tried to find all the lions, right? Gave it the old college try, couldn't do it. We only have four; we can't form Voltron. I-I mean I guess we could form a snake? Or a worm! To go through the hole, Rivalz was talking about."

"Then it's settled," Rivalz said, before smirking flirtatiously at Allura, "Allura, you ride with me," he leaned his head towards Coran, "one of you take the old guy." Coran began fuming in rage at the comment.

"Wait! We can't just abandon Arus!" Rai protested, "The Galra will keep destroying planets and capturing prisoners until we stop them!"

"That may be true," Suzaku said, "but if you think about it, the Lions are ultimately the Galra's targets. If we leave Arus, the Galra may follow us and leave the planet alone. That's what happened on Earth remember? There must be some planets the Galra are willing to let be."

"Yeah!" Rivalz nodded, "Then we form the snake thingamajig, and we sliver out of here!" He made slivering motions with his arms to emphasize.

Milly spoke, "But now Zarkon knows the Lions are back. Even if we do run, how far will we get before they catch us, not to mention the number of planets and people he'll kill just to do it? It's only going to get more dangerous from here on out! Also, if I may add, judging by their complexion, those Galra guys could use some beauty sleep… or a facial, I'm just saying."

"Exactly!" Rai agreed, "About the Lions and all that, not the facial thing… although, I'll agree with you on that too."

"Besides, why don't you use your quiznacking head for a moment," Kallen protested, glaring at Suzaku, while Coran and Allura flinched and gaped at Kallen as if she just said a foul word, "did it occur to you that Sendak could just destroy Arus, and then come after us anyway? Staying is our only option!"

"First of all, I don't think you used that 'quiznack' word correctly, and second you don't know that!" Suzaku objected gritting his teeth.

"We're not abandoning these people!"

"We're leaving!" Suzaku shouted.

"We're staying!" Kallen yelled back, with more vigor than they ever witnessed back at school, but everyone was too caught up in the situation to notice.

"Leaving!" Rivalz exclaimed.

"Staying!" Milly and Rai proclaimed together.

"Snake!" Shirley cried in panic.

"ENOUGH!" Lelouch roared with a tone of finality, showing true fury on his face, "Listen to yourselves! Arguing isn't getting us anywhere! I've said it once, and I'll repeat it if we want to survive this we need to work together!"

Everyone else turned their backs to one another, the votes to leave and stay divided perfectly in half, with Suzaku, Rivalz, and Shirley on one side wanting to go, and Rai, Milly, and Kallen on the other wishing to stay and fight. C.C. stood off to the side observing.

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Lelouch turned to the one person in the room who may know what to do, "Princess Allura, these are your lions. You've dealt with the Galra Empire before. You know what we're facing better than any of us. What do you think is the best course of action?"

For the first time since the new paladins arrived in her castle, Allura felt great doubt and fear swell inside. For truth be told… she didn't know what to do. It had literally been thousands of years since she had faced the Galra, and as much as she hated to admit it, Shirley was right, without the Red and Purple Lions they couldn't unlock the Black Lion to form Voltron, and she knew that they needed Voltron to win this war. With Sendak on his way to destroy the planet and only four working lions, there was no way to know if it would be enough to beat them.

"I-I don't know," Allura admitted, looking down at the floor in dismay.

"What do you mean you don't know!" Kallen exclaimed in frustration, which only seemed to make the princess falter more.

"Perhaps… your father could help," Coran said catching their attention.

"My father?" Allura asked in confusion.

"Wait," Rivalz said, voicing everyone's confusion, "I thought you said her father was dead?"

"Well… not exactly."

o~o

Allura followed Coran down a dark corridor, pitch black except for the neon blue glow of the Altean symbols on the walls and ceilings. A large door slid open in front of them revealing a holodeck interface on the inside — a glowing light in the very center.

"Coran," Allura gasped, "what is this?"

"King Alfor knew there was a chance he might never see you again. So his memories, his very being, was stored in this computer for you." Coran explained as Allura approached the glowing orb of light.

Allura reached out her hand to touch the orb as the orb rose into the air. Suddenly, blue sparks expanded, growing in size, turning from blue to yellow, showering the dark room, filling it with light. The pretty scenery changed from a dark room to a field of lush green grass and beautiful magenta flowers — mountains formed in the distance and white puffy clouds floating in the crystal blue sky. If the inside of the room still didn't smell of metal, Allura would have thought that it was real. Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears as she never imagined she'd see anything of Altea again.

A metallic ringing filled the air. A ray of blue light arose from the holodeck, forming the body of a man. It was transparent as a ghost, but he still looked as sharp and regal as when he was alive. His skin tone was identical to Allura's with icy blue eyes and silvery-white and white and blue battle armor with a long blue cape adorning his form. Despite this though, King Alfor's eyes looked tired and worn but still held the immense love they always had.

"Father!" Allura gasped and ran towards the holoform, "Father, it is so good to see you!"

"Allura, my only child, how I've missed your face," the image said with a sad smile.

Despite her happiness though, Allura could barely hold back tears of despair. "I'm so frightened! A Galra ship is set to attack, and I don't know what to do," the princess explained, all but collapsing at the image's feet, "Please father, I need your help."

"I would do anything to take this burden from you," Alfor responded sadly.

"I don't know if we should run, to preserve what we have, or stay and risk everything! I want to fight, but the paladins of old are gone… I know what you would do." she said, gazing up at the man as if she were only a child.

"I scattered the Lions of Voltron to keep them out of Zarkon's hands. You urged me to keep them and fight, but for the greater good of protecting the universe I chose to hide them."

"I think I understand," Allura said.

"No daughter," Alfor said, "You were right. I made a terrible mistake, one that cost the universe countless lives. Forming Voltron is the only way to stop Zarkon. You must be willing to sacrifice everything to assemble the Lions, and correct my error."

o~o

It didn't take long for Allura to exit the room her father resided. When she entered the control room once again, she was now wearing a full body white jumpsuit, with purple, black, and pink outlines. Her hair was styled into a messy bun with ringlets by her ears. The look on her face and fire in her eyes all but told the paladins, C.C., and Coran her answer.

"You seven paladins were brought here for a reason," Allura said, no tremor present in her tone whatsoever, "the Voltron Lions are meant to be piloted by you, and you alone! We must fight, and keep fighting until we defeat Zarkon. It is our destiny. Voltron is the universe's only hope. We are the universe's only hope."

Lelouch responded with a sentence he never thought would come out of his mouth again in his lifetime, but still held the same finality as when he was commanding the Black Knights as Zero. It was a tone that left no room for argument. "We're with you princess."

C.C. only grinned in anticipation as the other paladins nodded, some reluctantly, in agreement.

'This just got interesting…'

o~o

Allura led the seven paladins to a dark room that suddenly lit up with light as they entered. Within the room, in a semi-circle against the wall were seven pods almost identical to the ones Coran and Allura woke up from, only instead of people inside, there were seven identical suits of armor. They looked almost like the armor that medieval Britannian knights wore, just with a bit of a sci-fi flare added to them. They consisted of dark gray to light black full-body undersuits and topped with stiffer segments of white armor, and just like Allura's suit, they each had a large 'V' showing on the chest plates. The only differences in them were each had a different color outlining it: blue, red, yellow, black, purple, green, and orange.

"Your suits of armor," Allura presented as the paladins each walked up to their respective color, examining it each mumbling in admiration and amazement at the design.

"Cool!" Rai said.

"Nice," Kallen grinned.

"Outstanding," Lelouch said.

"Neat," Shirley said

"Love it!" Milly exclaimed.

"I'll take it," Suzaku said.

"This is going to be awesome!" Rivalz squealed like a fangirl as he looked at his blue armor with stars in his eyes.

"Princess," Coran said, pulling at his mustache as he eyed them with skepticism, "are you sure about this? They aren't exactly the best and brightest the universe has to offer."

"No, but they're all we've got." In any other situation, Allura would have shared her caretaker's same opinion, but time was of the essence.

"Paladins of Voltron!" Lelouch proclaimed with a smirk on his face, shared by all the others, "Suit up!"

Armor placed, belts buckled, plates adjusted, helmets mounted, and (for Shirley and Milly with some help from Allura) hair pulled up in buns, it wasn't long before the new Paladins of Voltron stood before the Alteans, an air of confidence surrounding them all.

Allura placed her hand over a glowing table in the same room, a symbol glowing brightly in the middle. The blue outline then vanished to reveal six handle-like objects which levitated before them, each corresponding to a color of the paladins.

"The bayard is the traditional weapon of the Paladins of Voltron," she explained as the bayards all floated towards their respective wielder, "it takes a distinct shape for each paladin."

Once the Orange Bayard landed in Shirley's palm, the object glowed a bright orange before seemingly narrowing and widening to form a very sturdy and versatile bow and a quiver of arrows appearing behind her back along with it. She hummed in slight skepticism as she never really used a bow or any other weapon in her life, but if the princess said it took a shape depending on who wielded it, she'd have t figure it out.

The Red Bayard found its way to Kallen's hand, which immediately shifted into what looked like a sizeable gloved gauntlet with what appeared to be silver opening that was closed in the middle. Raising her eye in confusion at first before nearly leaping back in surprise as three long claw-like blades appeared between her fingers, looking almost identical to that of Wolverine's claws from the X-men. Smirking she raised the clawed cestus to her face the same way she'd seen the famous X-men do on the movie covers, a matching wolfish grin spreading across her face.

When Milly got hold of the Yellow Bayard it also glowed until she felt what appeared to be metal in one hand, and a handle of something in another. After the light cleared, quirked her eyebrow in intrigue as a scythe attached to a silver chain appeared in her hands with yellow outlining it. She had seen ninja from old Japanese anime and movies wield a weapon like this. A kusarigama she recalled. Grabbing hold of the chain just below the handle, Milly twirled it around in a tight circle before grabbing hold of the handle stop it.

"Stylish, functional, and deadly," the Yellow Paladin smiled mischievously, "the perfect combination."

Suzaku reached for his bayard which took the form of a traditional Japanese katana blade but seemed to have the handle of a longsword, mixing both Japanese and Britannia sword styles, and the purple band on his wrist created a transparent blue shield, making him look like a sci-fi knight in shining armor. The Honorary Britannian smirked as he swung the katana around a few times before striking a finishing battle pose.

Rivalz held his bayard as it shifted into the form of a rifle. Confidently, he laughed as he aimed the gun around, pretending to shoot at oncoming enemies.

Rai's bayard turned into an arrow-like blade, glowing a bright forest green. He swung it around, pretending to slice at an invisible threat. It was the smallest of all the bayards, but it also seemed to be the most agile and most comfortable to control.

"Aw! You got a cute little bayard Rai," Rivalz teased. Rai smirked and struck Rivalz with it, which sent out an electric shock through the secretary's body, causing him to cry out in pain before falling to the floor, twitching slightly. Milly and the others all laughed.

"Yeah," the platinum blonde said, smiling smugly, "it is pretty cute."

The only one who hadn't received his bayard was Lelouch, whom Allura turned to with a show of regret on her face.

"Lelouch, I'm afraid your bayard was lost with its paladin."

The former prince simply shrugged. He probably would be useless on the front lines anyway with his lackluster body, unless he was inside his lion. And if all else failed, he could always use his Geass. "I'll just have to make do then."

o~o

Back in the control room, the paladins, Allura, and Coran pulled up the image of the battleship once again, planning their course of action.

"You'll have to retrieve the Red and Purple Lions from Sendak's ship," Allura explained.

"That's a pretty big ship…" Suzaku said.

"Yeah," Kallen said, "how are we going to know where the Lions are?"

"Well, it's not a matter of we," Milly said, "it's more of a matter of you two." Suzaku and Kallen blinked in confusion.

"The Prez is right," Shirley said, "once you get in you'll be able to like feel its presence and track it down."

"Yeah, you know how Rai felt that crazy energy back on Earth by the lake?" Rivalz asked.

"Yeah…" Kallen said with Suzaku slowly nodding.

"Hey! Didn't you make fun of me for that?" asked Rai accusingly.

"Yep! And I'm proud of it, but it turns out it's exactly like that mumbo jumbo."

"Kallen, Suzaku, remember, though the Red Lion is more than the Purple, both of them are extremely temperamental. You'll have to earn their respect." Allura said.

Kallen and Suzaku both tensed, Lelouch and C.C. being the only ones noticing. Unlike everyone else, who just found their lions and POOF instant connection and new mechanical cat to ride, they were both going to have to work to ride their lions. Just like everything else they had to do in their lives, whether against or for Brittania, they had to earn it.

However, they received some reassurance when Lelouch placed his hands on their shoulders. They could do this.

"Alright," said Lelouch, "here's our plan of attack..."

o~o

Shirley and Rivalz soared above the atmosphere of Arus, approaching the Galra battleship cautiously.

 _"The Galra Empire knows about the Blue and Orange Lion…"_

Meanwhile, Milly and Rai flew in with their lions from behind, carefully so that the battleship didn't notice, weaving in and around the asteroids before them.

 _"However, the advantage we have is that they don't know we have the Yellow and Green Lion as well. Shirley, Rivalz, you two will act as decoys by pretending to give yourselves up…"_

"Attention Galra ship," Rivalz said after seeing the Galra picked up their signal as he and Shirley moved in closer, "do not fire, we're surrendering our Lions."

Shirley gulped, "I hope this works…"

 _"While Sendak is distracted, Milly, Rai, Suzaku, Kallen, and I will sneak onto the ship in the Yellow and Green Lion. Suzaku and I will go to find the Purple Lion, while Kallen and Rai find the Red Lion. Milly will guard our exit. Rivalz, Shirley, find some way to take down that ion cannon."_

Milly and Rai both landed on the underside of the ship. Making sure that the Lions would stay in place, Rai exited and used his bayard to cut a clean hole in the wall, allowing the five to sneak in.

Meanwhile, a set of giant doors opened in front of the Orange and Blue Lion. Not knowing what would happen next but remaining calm, Rivalz spoke through the comm links in their helmets, "Milly what's your ETA?"

"We're in," came the reply as the lower mask of the helmet vanished as there was oxygen available around the ones inside. The team deduced that they in a power room, seeing as several bolts of purple lightning were connecting to the roof and floor. The walls and place, in general, were dark the only light present was the faint glow of dark purple light along the walls. Even without the dim lighting though, the team could immediately feel that there was something off about the ship. Lelouch, out of habit activated his Geass, as if he anticipated an enemy leaping out behind the metal walls. Like the Castle, it felt alive, but with a much more sinister and evil presence surrounding them, making them all the more eager to get the Lions and just. Get. Out!

o~o

From the pilot room on the other side of the ship, Sendak quickly took action to obtain the Lions. "Activate the tractor beam."

From outside, a bright purple light from the opened doors began to appear in front of the Orange and Blue Lions.

"What's that thing?" asked Shirley.

"I think that's our signal to get out of here!" Rivalz shouted. He yanked on the controls of his lion, causing it to leap out of the way of the purple beam that came shooting out, just in time. Shirley followed suit, the beam hitting nothing but space.

Sendak grit his teeth angrily, "They lied to us! Launch fighters!"

Hatches opened on the sides of the ship as dozens of fighter jets were launched out already firing at the duo.

"Shirley, you dismantle the ion cannon while I take these jerks on a space ride!" Rivalz said, grinning in anticipation as he launched his lion into the pool of fighters.

"Copy that!" she replied tightening her grip as she too sped off, this time straight towards the ship as Rivalz began to give her covering fire maneuvering and dancing around fighters, blasting beams while also getting them to shoot at each other from time to time.

o~o

Back inside the ship, Suzaku cautiously looked around the corner in search of patrols. Finding none, he gestured to the others to follow him. Lelouch, Kallen, and Rai emerged after him while Milly squatted to the ground behind them, covering their exit as planned, her kusarigama gripped tightly in her palm, giving off a faint golden glow.

Rai suddenly stopped, looking down the dimly lit hall. It suddenly seemed to getter larger and longer the more he stared. A vast array of disturbing images flashed before his eyes. A dark cell, surrounded by several other creatures, droids dragging him along the hall someplace, the screams and cries of others filling his ears. The feel of a surgical needle impaling his left eye.

Rai gasped and nearly stumbled backward. He panted as he attempted to regain his composure.

Milly acted fast and steadied him before he could tip over. "Rai, what's wrong?"

"I-I've been here before!" Rai realized as everyone else stopped moving to listen, "After I was taken away from Earth... somehow, they brought us here."

"Wait, 'us'?" asked Lelouch alarmed. Rai made no mention of this before.

"Me, my mom, and my sister, we were all captured," Rai nodded, holding his head, before snapping his head up in realization, "They could still be here! I have to rescue them!" he tried to run down the hall, but Lelouch stopped him for a moment.

"Do you know where they could be located?" the exiled prince asked seriously. This was the first time Lelouch honestly felt empathy towards Rai, as if he were in Rai's shoes, he too would do the same, especially for Nunnally and maybe even Euphemia.

"Yes," Rai nodded vigorously, "I remember where the prisoners are held!"

"Alright, we'll get them out," Lelouch said, but Suzaku then grabbed his shoulder.

"Lelouch," Suzaku said, "I know we shouldn't endanger innocents, but we probably won't have time to free them! We have to find the Lions and get back to Arus! Who knows how long Shirley and Rivalz can keep them distracted!"

"But we can't just leave prisoners here either!" Kallen exclaimed at the Purple Paladin, "They have families and friends waiting for them too you know! Isn't that what Allura said we are? 'The Universe's only hope?' How can we give that hope if we can't even save half-a-dozen prisoners."

"Kallen's right Suzaku, and besides, we can free prisoners, and still get the Lions if we split up," Lelouch said firmly, "Milly and I will go with Rai to get the prisoners out of here. You two go find your Lions."

"By ourselves?!" Suzaku exclaimed in disbelief.

"It's just a minor change of plans," Milly said, "and like we discussed back at the Castle, you two are the only ones who can find the lions anyway. You'll be fine. You just have to keep focused on the goal. Those are the words I live by."

"In both a good and evil way," Lelouch muttered under his breath. Milly, fortunately, didn't hear him.

Before the topic could be discussed any further, the sound of opening doors to their left filled the area. Their time was up for now.

"Run!" Lelouch half-whispered, half-shouted, as he, Milly, and Rai ran in one direction, while Kallen and Suzaku ran in the other.

The Red and Purple Paladins panted as they ran down the hall, having no real idea where they were supposed to go.

As they ran a thought came to Suzaku as he watched Kallen easily keeping up with him. Unusual, especially for someone not allowed to participate in P.E. due to 'health' problems.

"You-you've never been 'sick' from school have you, Kallen?"

The redhead scowled in annoyance. Were they talking about this now?

Fortunately, Kallen was rescued from having discussed this as the pair came to an intersection leading down three halls. "Great, now which way?" Kallen growled.

Suzaku looked from one hall to the other just as frustrated. His eyes eventually fell onto one of the two identical symbols in between the chambers. The glowing purple Galra emblem. For a moment, he couldn't look away from the image, no matter how angry it made him feel inside. The sharp edges and sinister formation embodied the race's ruthless and cruel nature to near perfection. Suzaku, no matter how reluctant, already noticed that this race was a lot like the Britannian Empire back on Earth. He could tell that Kallen, and especially Lelouch also saw the parallels, and already hated the Galra for it.

'No,' he shook his head, 'Brittania can still change for the better; there is still hope. The Galra have been doing this for thousands of years longer. This. Is. Different…' but for some reason, no matter how much he repeated this mantra, he couldn't quite bring himself to believe it fully.

"Suzaku hide!" Kallen's urgent whisper broke him from his thoughts as he was shoved to the left away from the center hall while Kallen leaped to the right. Not a moment too soon either as a pair of Galra droids emerged from the center hallway before walking past them, remaining unaware of the two paladins. Suzaku and Kallen made eye contact afterward, both nodding before they continued down the hall they had hidden in. As Lelouch said, it may be riskier, but splitting up gave them a more significant chance of finding the Lions.

o~o

Back outside, Shirley gritted her teeth as she set her lion into a nosedive straight for the ion cannon. If she could get a good hit on it at least once, then it would still take a while for it to get fixed so it would be able to buy Allura and Coran some time. Shirley was sure with the amount of armor on the lion it could probably even smash it to pieces. Just as she was about to hit it though, she felt herself and her lion bouncing off and away from it, almost like they had run into a flexible steel wall. Flipping backward to regain balance, Shirley flew around to see why she was bounced off and then she saw it.

"What the quiznack?" she gasped, seeing a translucent purple barrier surrounding the ion cannon, "What is that? A forcefield?"

This was going to take longer than she thought.

o~o

"Particle barrier up!"

At Allura's command, a transparent orb of blue energy surrounded the castle. It remained solid for about two seconds before it suddenly vanished.

"Is… that what's supposed to happen?" asked C.C. curiously with a raised eyebrow.

Allura shook her head. Something was wrong as the barrier should have remained on. Coran and the princess quickly rushed to a small control panel where the energy to power the dome should be. Opening the hatch, they looked inside, and Coran promptly spotted the problem.

"Oh, the barrier crystals are out of alignment!" he gasped.

"You use crystals to power your technology?" asked C.C.

"Yes," Coran said, "Don't you earthlings?"

C.C. was about to answer 'no' when she remembered that the sakuradite mineral was what helped provide the main power for Knightmare Frames. She shrugged, "In a way, to an extent."

"We have to fix it immediately," Allura said, "without the particle barrier, we'll be defenseless!"

"We're all too big," Coran said, referring to C.C. as well, "what could we do?"

C.C. was about to say they must have some sort of tools that could fix this, obviously, but found that it was not needed as the four space mice squeaked and scampered into the hatch.

"The mice!" Allura smiled.

"How do they know how to do this?" Coran asked.

"I can hear them talking to me," Allura explained, as the mice worked together to get the crystal back in alignment, "I think our minds are connected! It must be from sharing the sleep pod for ten thousand years!"

C.C. raised an eyebrow minutely at this. While she couldn't call anything impossible anymore, this was a first in her book. Then again though she also wasn't expected to be transported with Lelouch and his fellow classmates to a far off planet either.

After the crystal was realigned the controls lit up and the barrier finally manifested around the castle, in full power this time. The critters squeaked with joy, waving their paws happily.

"Thank you, friends," Allura said with a smile.

Coran then placed his fingers on his temples, his eyes comically wide as he stared intently at the mice, straining so much he began sweating.

"Coran, what are you doing?" Allura deadpanned to her assistant, while C.C. could only look on in amusement.

"I'm trying to get them to make me a sandwich."

o~o

Kallen and Suzaku each ran down a hallway after hallway, neither of them having luck finding their lion. Shouldn't they have at least felt their presence, or whatever the others said by now?

Suzaku made a sharp turn around the corner only to run headlong into someone, knocking them over. Suzaku quickly scrambled to his feet, bayard in hand just to put it away right after when he saw that he had run right into Kallen. Kallen had mirrored his actions as she realized who crashed into her.

"Come on Kururugi! Watch where you're going!" Kallen snapped.

"Sorry," Suzaku swiftly apologized, until he registered just where correctly they had run right back into each other… which happened to be the same intersection they had split up from, Suzaku coming in from the right and Kallen from the left this time. They had been going in circles!

"Oh come on! You've got to be quiznacking kidding me right now!" Kallen cursed in Altean as she caught onto what Suzaku noticed.

Suzaku regained his composure though and took a deep breath before closing his eyes in concentration, "Okay, let's just calm down and focus. I'm sure we can find them."

Huffing in irritation, Kallen relented before doing the same. Both the paladins waited and listened, then they both heard the sound of a growling purr coming from two areas of the ship.

"There you are!" Kallen smirked as she sprinted down the hall they originally came from.

"Got ya!" Suzaku said shortly after, taking down the hall he had just exited from, smirking.

o~o

Lelouch, Rai, and Milly made a turn to the right down a corridor, the lights changing from purple to green as they traveled. They stopped abruptly when a hovering prism-shaped drone flew before them. The markings covering it glowed a cool red as did the small light at the corner of it, moving up and down as if to scan them. Before it could do anything though, Rai shot it down with his wrist laser that had been built into all of their armor. The robot short-circuited and fell to the floor with a clank.

"That thing saw us," Lelouch said, as Rai approached the little droid, "we should get out of here."

"Wait," Rai said, dismantling the robot and tinkering around with its wires, "I think this could come in handy," Lelouch and Milly watched in awe at how easily Rai seemed to understand this technology already. Even Lloyd Asplund would be jealous of his skill.

He flipped the covering closed after finishing the last wire, "Now I'll just reset the controls…" the robot leaped back to life but instead of red lights, bright blue lights lit it up, "And it's working for us!"

"Rai! You little genius you!" Milly grinned. She would have given him a nuggie had he not been wearing his helmet. Lelouch nodded with a smile before turning serious again and glancing down the hall to make sure no one was behind them.

Rai smiled at their new companion as they turned down another hall, "I'm gonna call you Rover. Follow me!"

The three made their way to a large pair of metal doors that were sealed shut. Rai recognized it pretty well. This was a prison cell that very likely held many innocent aliens inside.

"Open up," he ordered Rover, in which the little drone happily complied, a beam shooting out from its lens, it scanned its ID before the door opened.

"Nice job Rai," Lelouch nodded. The doors to the cell opened with a groan, one side rising up, and the other going down.

As light entered the cell, it nearly brought Milly to tears as the distressed cries, whimpers, and moans of the alien prisoners inside.

"Mom? Sophronia?" Rai asked as the three entered. The prisoners only cowered in fear, all different types of alien species; some were green, red, blue, and yellow. Some had claws instead of hands and others had multiple arms. One alien, a slender gray one with a fish-like face was hugging what appeared to be an adolescent yellow alien with a single eye and yellow skin.

As Rai slumped in disappointment seeing that his mother and sister weren't present among them, Milly and Lelouch came up behind them.

"Don't be afraid," Milly said with a kind smile, "we're here to help you escape."

The gray alien scanned over Lelouch and Milly before his eyes fell on Rai again. His eyes widened in shock and… awe?

"It's you!" he gasped, as Rai brought his head back up, his eyes widening in confusion, "it's you, The Champion. If anyone can get us out of here, he can."

"Wh-what did you call me?" asked Rai. He didn't remember any of these aliens at all. And the champion of what?

"We don't have time to wait," Lelouch said as he exited the cell, "Let's get them to the escape pods and meet up with Kallen and Suzaku. Quickly!"

"Right," Milly nodded as she and Rai started waving prisoners out, "let's get going."

o~o

Rivalz, made a sharp turn around the ship, laughing and whooping as he went, avoiding a shot from two more vessels. Even though he was technically in a life or death situation right, he couldn't help but feel how exhilarating flying the Blue Lion felt, also if it was in the middle of a battle.

"Yeah!" he grinned, "This is way more fun without anyone puking on me!"

On the other hand, Shirley wasn't having much success breaking the particle barrier surrounding the cannon. She attempted once again to break through by slamming against it with the Orange Lion, only to once again be bounced off and drift away. She had hit it so hard she had nearly hit her head on the controls, and she already felt a massive headache forming.

'This is going to hurt in the morning," she thought miserably.

o~o

Kallen followed the energy of the Red Lion until she reached her destination. Taking out her clawed cestus, she cut through the doors that led to the other side like butter. Rushing inside, she was soon confronted by a warm red glow from the end of the room. There it was, the Red Lion, hovering a little above the floor inside its particle barrier, its eyes faded and dark, indicating it was still asleep.

"Bingo," she grinned as she ran up to it and placed her hand on the particle barrier, "Let's get out of here. Open up!"

Unlike the other Lions though, who lowered their barriers the moment their respective paladin made contact, this lion was stubborn and refused to connect to Kallen. The Red Paladin knew getting the Red Lion's trust would be more difficult than the others, but she honestly hoped that it wouldn't be this way.

"It's me, Kallen, your pilot," she insisted, trying to use a tone she would use if she speaking to a friend of hers or even her brother Naoto. Kallen scowled in frustration. Come on! What would it take for this thing to like her?!

"It's me! Kallen! You're- I am your Paladin!" she exclaimed rather bluntly, but the lion still didn't move.

Kallen grit her teeth as she banged on the barrier. She must be doing this wrong; there was something she was missing. She didn't have any more time to think, however, as several Galra droids started to fire at her. She activated her wrist shield (Allura told them they each had one after Suzaku 'modeled' his with his bayard) to protect herself from the blasts as she continued to try and bond with the lion.

"I'm bonding with you! Come on! We're connected! Or whatever you want to call it!"

Still no response. Snarling in a fury, Kallen reactivated her bayard (she had always been wearing it but had retracted the claws), the three cestus claws shining menacingly from the lights in the hanger, and charged the droids. She wasn't necessarily angry with the Lion; she knew she was going to have to make it trust her… somehow, but she was far more than annoyed with these droids firing at her.

"You're not getting this lion!" she shouted as she blocked one of the droids strikes before slicing its legs off. She sliced another droid to pieces right through the middle. She ducked to avoid another attack from above and reached up grabbing the droids head, intending to crush it.

She then heard a 'click' in her gauntlet hand and what followed she could only describe as a significant robot malfunction. The palm of her gauntlet glowed a bright red, and the droid expanded and melted at the same time before going up in a little inferno, blasting Kallen back against the control panel. The blasts kept coming, but Kallen stared, astounded at her gauntlet. The center with the silver circular opening still smoking before closing shut over a red light.

"Woah-" Kallen couldn't finish her sentence before one shot nearly knicked her ear. She looked around frantically before eyeing a sizeable glowing button at the bottom of the control panel. Following her instinct, she lowered her shade to cover her entire mouth so she could breathe before slamming her fist onto the button. The hatch beneath them opened, sucking all of the Galra droids into the soul-sucking darkness of space.

Kallen held onto the control panel with all her might, looking up desperately at the Lion almost pleading with it to do something. Debris and other parts of the ships zoomed past her face, one of them hitting her hand. She yelped as she lost her grip on her left side. She attempted to reach back and get another hold, but another piece of debris hit her square in the face. She knew that if she hadn't been wearing the space helmet, that surprisingly remained intact from the blow, she probably would have been knocked out cold. She lost her grip, screaming in terror as she was sucked into space.

She floated in zero gravity, her eyes flickering frantically unsure what to do now.

To her surprise though, it turned out she didn't need to do anything as the Red Lion came swooping out of the hanger and came to her, nipping her out of the air and settling her in the safety of its mouth.

Despite the initial shock of the experience, she smirked as she sat down in the pilot seat and was brought to the 'head' of the lion inside where the controls rested.

"Good kitty," she said, placing her hands on the control handles, "let's roll!"

o~o

(Happening at the same time as Kallen's)

Suzaku sliced through another droid as he continued to charge toward a hanger door that he felt the Purple Lion was in. Unlike Kallen, who didn't run into any droids until she in the hanger, droids were hanging around every corner!

"Seriously! Don't you guys have something better to do?!" Suzaku complained as he pushed through another pair of droids. Panting, Suzaku looked around seeing nothing but droid scraps surrounding him, some still short-circuiting from recent wounds. Looking at the door, he saw that there was a hand-scanner of some sort.

"I wonder…" Suzaku said aloud as he squatted next to one of the droids before taking its hand, which was only dangling by a few wires and held it against the scanner. The scanner glowed a faint violet before the door in front of him opened. Looking inside, he almost didn't see the Lion, as the purple lights nearly matched the views of the ship itself, but it was there as he could just barely make out its outline.

"There you are," he smiled as he began running toward the Lion. Before he was even halfway there, a blast flashed by his head, nearly hitting the side of his neck. His military training was the only thing that probably saved him from certain death. He whipped around; his bayard activated he saw that it wasn't a droid that had shot at him, but an actual Galra officer. And he was HUGE!

He grinned, lowering his rifle that almost claimed Suzaku's life, his hair and fur brushed neatly, and hard, cold amber eyes staring into his very soul.

"So," he said with a deep voice that sent shivers down Suzaku's spine, "you're one of the new Paladins. You must be the new Purple Paladin. Obviously of course, why else would you be seeking our lions."

"They're not your lions!" Suzaku snapped, his bayard still at the ready, "they belong to Princess Allura of Altea. You have no right to any of them!"

The Galra could only laugh a hearty, belly laugh, as if mocking the boy, as more droids fell into the room, surrounding him, "On the contrary, we did find it first after ten thousand years. As the saying goes 'finders, keepers',"

"Finding it doesn't make it yours! And besides, I don't see that lion coming over to defend you right now. It only serves the one it chooses!"

The Galra stopped laughing before sneering at the Purple Paladin, "So, you're a 'know-it-all' type, are you? I hate know-it-alls." The guard swung his rifle outwards, causing what looked like a hidden compartment to open, turning the gun into a wicked looking scythe-like weapon.

Suzaku's eyes widened as the Galra charged at him. Suzaku barely had time to bring his bayard up to block him, even then though the strike from the Galra was strong enough to throw him back at least a yard. He slid backward, nearly losing balance before bringing his sword up to block again, the Galra soldier bearing down on him. The metal underneath them creaked at the strength of the Galra above him, sweat already dripping down his face.

"Well, well," the Galra grinned, his yellow teeth bared, "you've got some spirit I see. I might just let you live if you give up."

"Never," Suzaku gritted out as his grip on the bayard beginning to shake. Seriously, was this alien made out of boulders?!

"You do realize if you don't quit now, you'll die. Not much help to the Princess dead now are you?"

"That doesn't matter," Suzaku grunted, "there were Paladins before us. If I die, they can find another. All that matters is getting the Purple Lion back to the others."

"Tch, how pathetic," the Galra mocked, "throwing life away for something so worthless. Fine though, if you're so eager to die, I'll grant you that wish!"

The Galra pressed his weight down on Suzaku even harder, Suzaku nearly losing his grip on his bayard. Suzaku could swear he heard his bones creaking as he yelled in pain and righteous fury.

Death, however, was not Suzaku's destiny that day, as a mighty roar suddenly filled the room. The particle barrier around the Purple Lion dissipated and began charging straight for Suzaku and the Galra soldier. The soldier and Suzaku both looked up in shock, though the soldier more in fear as well. The Galra in sheer terror tore himself away from Suzaku and made a run for the door. Suzaku was too stunned to move as the Lion leaped above him, standing proudly above with him protectively between the lion's front paws.

"SHOOT HIM! SHOOT HIM!" he ordered frantically to the droids. Before the droids could even raise their guns though, the lion roared, and its tail shot out dark beams of energy, hitting each droid dead on. It wasn't long before they were nothing more than scrap metal.

The Galra, now terrified, attempted to run for the exit but didn't get far as he felt sheer agony tear through him, from his back to his torso. Looking down, he was stared in horror at the purple and white blade protruding from his gut.

"You're no soldier," Suzaku muttered, pulling his sword out from the Galra, "you're nothing but a coward. Why you decided to become a soldier, I'll never know!" The Galra gurgled before slumping forward, his scythe-rifle falling limp from his hands.

Suzaku panted as he stared at the dead Galra, already feeling bile rising in his throat, painful, unwanted memories rising to the surface of his mind. His right hand was trembling to the point he nearly dropped his bayard.

A soothing purr soon filled his mind, pushing the memories away. Suzaku turned to face the Purple Lion in apprehension. Did she see that? Did she now know what he did? Another purr filled his mind as the Lion lowered its head to let him in accepting him as her paladin.

Suzaku smiled in absolute relief, he knew he would have to reveal his secret to the others eventually, but right now, he just wasn't ready yet.

"Let head back," he said as he gripped the controls in the pilot seat.

o~o

Lelouch, Milly, and Rai led the prisoners through the ship to the escape pods as fast as possible. The aliens were moments away from freedom. They had been locked up for so long they nearly forgot what it felt like to be free.

"Halt!" a droid called out, followed by four more. Milly kept herding the prisoners into the pod as Lelouch and Rai prepared to face the droids. Rai activated his bayard while Lelouch raised his fists. His body may not be the fittest, but he would do everything in his power to get the prisoners out safely.

Lelouch and Rai both suddenly felt a jolt of pain in their right eyes, and it wasn't long before they saw red, clutching their Geass eyes in pain, collapsing to their knees.

o~o

C.C. blinked as she suddenly felt a pulse of energy run through her body. The red mark of the Geass Code flashed across her forehead before fading. It did leave stinging pain in her head though.

'What was that?'

o~o

"Lelouch? Rai? What's wrong?" Milly's voice was nothing but a muffle in the background.

'What's going on?' Fear was suddenly gripping Lelouch. He didn't remember calling upon his Geass; he wasn't even planning to use it as he wasn't sure it would work on droids. He remembered C.C. mention this before. She called it a 'Runaway Geass' and had warned him that if he used his Geass too recklessly, then his Geass would activate permanently. Was it happening already? He hadn't been using his Geass for that long, right?

'And when did Rai get a Geass as well? Did C.C. give him one as well? And if so when? Wait-' Lelouch suddenly realized that Rai was in pain similar to this back at the Castle, right before he got some of his memories back. 'What was going on-'

Before Lelouch could think anymore, his mind suddenly went blank, the blazing red seal of his Geass shining brightly in his left eye. Had he looked at Rai, he would have seen the same thing happening to him. They both looked up, looks of pure murder on their faces.

Rai shot forward while Lelouch squared his shoulders, a red-tinged aura surrounding his wrists and arms, crackling red electricity seeming to surge from them.

Rai easily blocked the laser shots with his bayard and armor before slicing and dicing it to pieces. Two droids broke through Rai's guard, but they didn't get far as Lelouch reigned his arms backward before shooting them forwards again, red energy erupting and blasting through the droids before rushing forward to meet more. Rai flipped over one of the droids that were shot backward and sliced the heads of three more droids off, and Lelouch slid under him and with his bare hand stabbed straight through the chest of the last droid, hand still crackling.

Milly could only watch slack-jawed at the now useless pile of droids that surrounded the two boys. 'Since when could Lulu do that? He's been holding out on us!'

Lelouch and Rai blinked and shook their heads, the Geass in their eyes disappearing. They both looked around in confusion at the now fallen droids. What the heck just happened?

The sound of the escape pod doors closing shattered the illusion as the trio looked at the prisoners in the pod as it drew away from the ship.

"Thank you Zephyr," the gray alien smiled at Rai as the pod reeled away, the aliens being escorted to safety. Rai reached out to them, confusion on his face.

"Wait- who's Zephyr?" Rai asked before realizing that now wasn't the time for questions; they could wait until they got back to the castle.

"Rai, who were they talking about?" Lelouch asked suspiciously, in which Rai could only shake his head helplessly, just as confused.

"Lelouch. Lamperouge." Milly harrumphed, "Explain yourself, young man! What on Earth have you been doing to compensate for missing gym class?"

"What?" Lelouch asked now the confused one.

"Just a minute ago, you two were completely wiping the floor with those things. And last I checked Lulu you can't even run two without looking like you ran a 5K afterward!"

Rai still looked completely confused while Lelouch slowly covered his left eye, and looking down at his right hand after.

"I-I don't know…"

o~o

Finally having enough, Shirley yanked down on one of the handles as hard as her hands could muster. A bright blue beam of energy shot out of the Orange Lion's mouth and directly at the particle barrier, purple cracks beginning to form.

"Come on! Just break you stupid thing!" she exclaimed. Finally, after putting everything she had into the blast, the barrier shattered leaving the ion cannon wide open for attack.

"Score one for Shirley!" Not wasting another second, Shirley zoomed down and slammed the Orange Lion into the side of the ion cannon, leaving a significant dent in it. Not exactly the most excellent example of vandalism but it should at least buy them some time before it was fixed. Looking up she saw four more lions swiftly pass overhead, Milly's, Rai's, with Kallen's Red Lion, and Suzaku's Purple Lion.

"You guys made it!" Shirley cried in happy relief.

"Kitty Rose has left the stage!" Milly replied with a grin.

"Let's get the heck out of here!" Rivalz said as he directed the Blue Lion to fly back to Arus.

"I hope I stopped that cannon," Shirley said, "I could barely make a dent in it!"

o~o

"They stole both the lions!" one of the Galra officers said to Sendak back on the ship's bridge.

"After them!" Sendak snarled, "Either we get those lions, or we blow this whole planet to cosmic dust! Fire the ion cannon!"

"Sir! The ion cannon has been damaged!" the officer, Haxus, said.

"Then send the drones to fix it!" Sendak order in exasperation as the Galra ship began approaching the Arusian atmosphere.

o~o

AN: Well... this came out a little later than I thought. Not going to make excuses, let's just say I misjudged how long this would take to write (I'm honestly shocked how long this got!)

Also, in case anyone is confused, Margaret is the name of Rai's younger sister. She, Rai, and their mother were abducted by the Galra a little while before the official Code Geass series began. Won't say anything else as more of Rai's past will be revealed as we go.

The next chapter will finish off the 'pilot' episode of Voltron, in which after that I will (as promised) go back and write a chapter for one of my other stories. They are both halfway done, but as I said above, I can't really predict when they'll come out, so just be patient with me.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you don't agree with the bayard choices and think a different weapon would suit them better, then just let me know. And why did Lelouch, Rai, and C.C.'s Geass/Codes react like that? Are the Galra connected to the Geass power somehow?

Also, before I forget, there is a new poll that I posted on my profile regarding this story. For those of you who haven't answered it yet, please do so. The results may well affect the plot majorly.

I'm also stuck in a bit of a pairing war right now... I honestly think that Shirley/Lelouch is a cute couple in cannon CG, but I also love Kallen/Lelouch as well (And before you ask, NO I'm not going to make this a harem! I have plans for C.C. as well.). So please let me know in the comments which pairing you prefer. The one who doesn't win will end up with Rai, as one of the paths in the game allows him to merely pursue anyone as a girlfriend.

So, if there are any further questions, PM me or leave a comment so I can answer it for you!

R&R!

Review Replies:

dsgundam00: Hope this was up to your expectations then! I'll admit I kind of suck at writing battle and action scenes so apologies in advance.

Archangel Igneel: Don't know. Though it can be easy to miss small details, it's mentioned where each part is when the seven of them have their first vision of Voltron after the Blue Lion is activated.

Benjustice: Thanks! I drew inspiration for the people from a fanmade comic that I love. You can check it out on DeviantArt. It's called the Cloud Maker by LivingAliveCreator. Check out her work if you're interested (that goes for anyone else as well!)

TempestLaw: Oh yeah! I'm looking forward to writing that! I'll have to figure out if I can work it into one of the episodes or give it its chapter. We'll see where that goes. Not much change from Voltron canon so far, but it will start to branch off the further we get in.

Mclendenenxd: Oh trust me! I have BIG plans for Britannia when the time comes. Don't worry. If there is one thing that I'm changing, it's that Euphemia is NOT going to die. You'll just have to see what other fate she has (*wink*wink*)

TFG (Guest): Yep! Thank you. For everyone else that is confused what the elements for the lions are, the Orange Lion is Land (which is what the Yellow Lion is in canon). The Yellow Lion in this fic is Light, and the Purple Lion is Darkness (THAT DOESN'T MAKE IT EVIL!). The Purple and Yellow Lions are technically there to symbolize balance, how you can't have light without some darkness.

tl34It12: Well, here it is! You'll just have to wait and see once we get there.

Perseus12: Well! Now it has happened! I hope you enjoyed it!


	6. Chapter 6: Rise of Voltron Finale

Chapter 6: Rise of Voltron Finale

The six lions stood assembled before the large hangar doors. The anticipation in the air was thick enough; someone could easily swim through it. Finally, after ten thousand years, the seven Lions of Voltron would be united once again.

Lelouch breathed as he stood on the steps leading to the door. He'd never admit it aloud, but he was nervous. Though Allura did say he would be the Black Paladin, what if that wasn't the case? What if the Lion didn't respond to him?

'No,' Lelouch thought, 'you can do this. If it doesn't accept you, the universe is doomed.'

One by one, the eyes of the Lions behind him lit up as the doors opened.

Back on the bridge of the ship, a screen in front of Allura and Coran showed images of the six active lions on diamonds of their color, three on the right, three on the left, and a large indigo diamond at the top. She clapped her hands together in anticipation, praying that the Black Lion would awaken. She didn't mention this to Lelouch or the others, but the Black Lion could be picky with its rider as well, primarily since it was the head of Voltron and would ultimately lead the team. If it didn't see it's paladin as competent enough, she could reject them.

Lelouch's heart pounded as the doors to the hanger glowed blue, and the doors rose, to reveal the black beauty herself.

Lelouch's eyes widened, along with the other paladins that stood behind him by their lions, gazing in astonishment. The Black Lion was the largest of the seven. Sleek black body, a gold chest and 'crown' on its head and large red wings hanging on her back. Her eyes dark indicating she was still asleep. Her eyes suddenly lit up, before she lurched forward, producing a tremendous roar, that seemed to echo throughout the entire castle. The six other lions mimicked their leader, returning with bellows of great respect.

Allura sighed in relief as the indigo diamond lit up and Coran leaped up with a cheer of victory. It was not to last though as alarms blazed throughout the castle.

"Oh quiznack!" Coran exclaimed as a video feed appeared on the castle's screen. The Galra battleship along with hundreds of fighters had entered Arus's atmosphere and was coming in fast.

Allura placed her hands on the control panels, multiple screens showing the castle's defenses lit up. "Sendak is entering the Arusian atmosphere. We need Voltron now!" her voice emerging from the intercoms to alert the Paladins.

One by one, the Paladins entered their lions. Lelouch slid into his seat in the Black Lion's head and was brought up to the controls, gripping to the two control sticks firmly in his hands, the walls and screens lighting up in white light. The Black Lion's eyes flashed before roaring again and shooting up into the air and flying towards the opening at the very top of the castle, the six others following close behind. They landed firmly on the ground, their silver bodies gleaming in the sunlight, witnessing the Galra shooting at the castle's barriers. Each hit causing a small explosion, weakening the shield bit by bit.

o~o

"The ion cannon is back online," the Galra soldier informed Commander Sendak from the control deck.

"FIRE!"

o~o

The ion cannon, shot its powerful beam, hitting the castle head on. The barrier was engulfed in a fiery inferno, powerful enough to shake the hill that the castle was perched on. Coran, C.C., and Allura held onto the controls from inside while the Paladins could only endure the impact from their lions, their bodies practically vibrating with the hill.

"Man those Galra guys repair things fast!" Rivalz exclaimed, astonished to see the cannon that Shirley had managed to partly destroy back to full operation.

"The barrier gets weaker with every blast," Coran said as he scanned the particle barrier, "Once that shield goes down, the Castle will be defenseless!"

Allura kept her composure as she contacted Lelouch and the other Paladins, "I can give you cover in the castle defenses for a while, but you have to form Voltron now, or we'll all be destroyed!"

"Jeez, no pressure!" Shirley mumbled with frightened sarcasm.

Another blast from the Galra's cannon hit the barrier, once again it was engulfed in an inferno, causing earthquake levels of shaking once more. Lelouch grit his teeth as he and the others endured until the shaking ceased, the particle barrier already short-circuiting from the damage. His hands were white beneath his black gloves from gripping the controls so hard.

"Team Voltron, listen up! The only way we'll stop Sendak is to fight with everything that we've got! We can't let the castle fall; otherwise, we're just handing victory over to Sendak and Zarkon! Are you with me?!"

Each of the paladins nodded in response, even the mechanical lions nodding with them. They had come this far, each protecting the other, it was far too late to turn back now.

"Very well!" Lelouch said, pulling on his controls and pushing his lion forward out of the barrier, the other lions following behind, "Let's go!"

"Yeah!" they shouted in unison.

"Okay, quick question though how?" Suzaku said, suddenly remembering a big problem.

"Good question," Kallen said while avoiding incoming blasts, "how do we form Voltron?"

"I don't see a 'combine into a giant robot' button anywhere on my dashboard!" Shirley said as the lions leaped across the rocky landscape of the hill. Beams of the Galra ship forced them to remain moving otherwise they would get shot.

Rai in the Green Lion barely dodged a flurry of lasers, "This is insane! Can't they just cease firing for one minute so we can figure this out? Is that too much to ask?!" Rai shouted right before turning around a leaping towards two gliders that closer to the ground. Jumping up, the Green Lion caught one of them in his mouth by the wing before throwing it into the other.

"I doubt these guys are the considerate type Rai," Milly said as she nearly lost her balance from another laser landing right in front of her.

Kallen also turned around and used the Red Lion's laser tail to shoot down two more flyers. "We got to do something!"

"Combine!" Rivalz yelled as he suddenly rammed his lion into Kallen's which was flung backward and rolled across the ground before regaining balance.

"Hey!" Kallen exclaimed in annoyance.

"Okay, that didn't work," Rivalz said, slightly ashamed.

"Good try," Shirley said, trying to comfort the Blue Paladin, right before having to dodge shots again.

Lelouch grit his teeth in frustration. He hated having to be in a battle like this. Unlike on Earth back with the Black Knights, at least he had had information on the enemy. Not to mention he already knew what actions his siblings and the other Britannian soldiers would make, so he was easily able to thwart them. Not to say his Geass helped much in that department as well, but this time he was on a completely blank slate. He only had his king and couple pawns remaining. Barely any moves available to make on the board. He had to figure out how to form Voltron with the others, FAST!

It didn't help when Allura's face appeared on the screen of the lion, "Quickly paladins! Our energy levels are getting low!"

"Maybe if we fly in formation we'll just combine," Lelouch suggested. It seemed to be the most logical solution right now, seeing as the Lions needed to be a specific part of Voltron if they flew a specific way, they were bound to just come together, "Everyone, take off on my cue!" The seven lions dashed towards the edge of the cliff as Lelouch began counting down, "One, two, three, Voltron!"

As one, the lions leaped off the cliff and soared into the sky in perfect 'V' formation. The paladins grunted and strained themselves, trying desperately to try and merge, but nothing was happening.

"Nothing's happening!" Lelouch exclaimed in frustration.

"Hey, wait, wait, wait!" Rivalz said, "I think I feel something!"

"I do too!" Milly confirmed, "it's like we're being pulled in the same direction!"

"Uh, guys!" Kallen suddenly shouted, "I think I know why!"

"Yeah! Look up!" Suzaku said.

"What the cheese?!" Shirley exclaimed as they all saw that they had been caught in Sendak's tractor beam and were slowly being pulled in.

"Sendak's ship is sucking us in like a black hole!" Rai shouted in panic, pulling at controls, desperate to escape.

Sendak smirked evilly. "Send a report to Emperor Zarkon. The day is ours!"

The ship unleashed one final blast from the ions cannon, and this time it destroyed the particle barrier leaving the castle vulnerable, C.C., Coran, and Allura losing balance as it happened.

"No!" Lelouch gasped as an image of the defenseless castle appeared on his screen.

Shirley's screen appeared right next to it, she looked like she was having a panic attack, "Lulu! I don't care what you say, I'm panicking now!" followed by a shrill scream.

Everyone else, and their lions tried desperately to move, but no matter what they did, they were completely frozen, at the mercy of Sendak's crew.

"It can't end here!" Rai shouted.

"This is it!" Rivalz cried.

"It's been an honor flying with you," Suzaku said.

"It was good while it lasted everyone," Kallen agreed.

"At least we'll go down together," Milly said, trying to comfort everyone one last time.

From the Castle, Allura could only watch with tears in her eyes as the universe's last hope was pulled towards the enemy.

Lelouch was gripping the controls of the Black Lion so hard, his hands were turning white. Gritting his teeth, he looked up defiantly at the ship sucking them in. No. He was Zero! He was the Man Who Works Miracles. He's already pulled off more impressive feats with the Black Knights than any other terrorist group could only dream of. He confronted his father, the freaking Emperor of Britannia, and demanded an explanation to his mother's murder, and what did he get in return?! Banishment to Japan with Nunnally blinded and crippled to add icing to the cake! Nunnally was the entire reason he was fighting. He promised Nunnally he would make the world a gentle place for her. If he gave up now, it would be like spitting upon that promise and the memory of his mother, Lady Marianne vi Britannia. He wouldn't give up.

He REFUSED!

"NO!" Lelouch proclaimed, "We can do this! But we can't do that unless we believe in ourselves!" the other paladins blinked at their leader's words, "If we give up now, we may as well be digging Earth's grave, and several other planets will follow close behind!"

Milly thought of her grandfather, all alone at Ashford Academy.

Rivalz saw his father, mother, sisters, and baby brother, praying and kneeling for him to found and safely returned.

Shirley saw her father and mother, worried sick and devastated over her disappearance.

Rai heard his sister and mother calling out to him, begging to see him again and rescue them.

Princess Euphemia, the sub-viceroy whom he had grown to respect and trust in the short time he knew her flashed through Suzaku's mind. Sweet innocent Euphie… he could never let her be subjected to this.

A tear trailed down Kallen's face as the face of her now deceased brother and her mother's soft smile, taking the abuse of her stepmother and continuing to remain by her side. She never realized until now, but besides those of the now current Black Knights, her mother had always been there for her, even when she didn't want her to be. How could she have been so blind up to this point?

"The situation seems impossible that's true! But if we work and listen to one another, we can pull off our own miracle! Failure to do so is not an option!"

The paladin's expressions hardened. Lelouch was right. They couldn't afford to lose now, not with so many lives at stake now!

"If we work together… WE'LL WIN TOGETHER!"

"YEAH!" the others cheered next to him, the eyes of their lions glowing a bright gold as they lifted their heads to roar in unison!

Then as one, at the very moment, the seven paladins felt something deep within them all snap into place, the lions following not even a split second later. The joining of seven hearts, seven minds, seven souls.

They were one.

The lions leaped into the sky, their colors sailing behind them in a stream as pieces took shape, merging as one, each lion dismantling itself, portions either retracting or extending to form and link together.

A bright flash of light followed as the resulting shock wave of a lion's roar jostled the ion just enough, that when the final shot fired, it missed the Castle of Lions by mere centimeters. Instead, it hit and destroyed the mountain behind it in a fiery inferno.

After regaining balance from the aftershock of the explosion Allura, Coran, and even C.C. looked up and gasped in astonishment.

Bringing in a closer image, they saw the outline of a towering figure made entirely from metal. The face of the warrior could be seen within a dark helmet, shaped like the head of a lion, large red metal wings outstretched from the body. The upper torso looked black with outlines of blue energy. The left arm a green color, the right red. Its right leg blue and left leg orange with the faces of the lions as the feet and two more lion heads making up the knees in yellow and purple respectively. Same with the arms as the lion heads made up the hands. A neon blue 'V' symbol was presented proudly on its chest.

Sendak could only gasp in terror and took a step back, not believing what he was seeing, "Voltron!"

"We did it!" Suzaku exclaimed.

"I can't believe it!" Kallen agreed.

"We formed Voltron!" Rai cheered.

"And we look AMAZING!" Milly commented.

"I'm a leg!" Rivalz whooped.

"How are we doing this?!" Shirley could only ask in astonishment.

Lelouch was honestly just as astonished and amazed at what they accomplished. Not to mention it felt incredible! Since the Lions were now one being, it was as if he could sense what everyone else was thinking as well. They were a team.

"I don't know, but let's get that cannon!" Lelouch ordered, thrusting the controls forward the winged giant gripped the cannon and snapped it off the ship like it was a mere twig. Voltron tossed it away and watched as it landed in a nearby field. With a swing of its right arm, the Red Lion's head punched through the ship's surface, a powerful beam of energy blasting through the battleship, the front of it exploding in an inferno, breaking the ship in two.

Sendak stumbled before catching himself, seeing the shadow of the Defender of the Universe soar to the other side of the ship, before stomping through the interior on the other side, a beam emitting from the Green Lion on Voltron's left arm. As Sendak watched from the control deck his ship going up in flames, he and his second in command, Haxus, turned in terror and ran to the escape pods.

They had made it just in time as Voltron soared into the air and sped forward ramming right into the ship, the seven paladins within the giant screaming in righteous fury. They slammed so hard into the ship, they smashed through one end and right out the other. The vessel caught fire before blowing up in a blaze as they landed on the ground, the glow of the destroyed ship lighting up the Arusian sky.

o~o

The sun was setting in the distance as the paladins, now in their disbanded lions returned to the Castle of Lions triumphant. They landed near the entrance where Allura, C.C., and Coran awaited them. All of them were sweaty and worn out, but otherwise happy to have made it out of the battle alive.

"Good work Paladins!" Allura praised, a look of joy in her smile.

"Thanks, pretty lady," Rivalz replied with a smile as he removed his helmet along with Lelouch, Suzaku, and Rai. Shirley had fallen on her behind she was so tired, and Milly had her hands on her knees, panting. Kallen was only slightly hunched over. Both their helmets were still on. Milly was actually amazed Lelouch of all people was one of the ones still standing after that.

"Well, mission accomplished," Lelouch said a tired smile.

"Yeah," Suzaku agreed, looking at his childhood friend with a small grin, "we did it!"

"How did we do it?" asked Kallen, removing her helmet and looking at Lelouch questioningly.

"I was kind of just screaming the whole time," Shirley said with a shrug, taking off her helmet and untying her bun, her hair flowing behind her, "maybe that did it?"

Everyone chuckled at Shirley's attempt at a joke before Rai looked down with a grimace of regret. Milly and Lelouch, seeing this knew precisely why. The Yellow Paladin put a comforting hand on Rai's shoulder.

"Don't worry Rai, we're not going to stop searching until we find your mother and sister, that's a promise!"

"Just keep thinking about them," Lelouch said adding his two cents, "no matter where they are right now, I'm sure they're proud of you." Rai gave the two a smile of appreciation. He hadn't realized how much he truly needed to hear that. He felt like for the time being that a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

"We won the battle," Allura addressed them after a moment, Coran standing next to her in classic military fashion, "but the war has only just begun… I'm afraid Zarkon will not stop until he gets these lions."

"Good thing you paladins know what you're doing," Coran said, "because you're going to have to form Voltron again and again."

"Totally... Wait, what?!" Shirley exclaimed, pretty voicing everyone's thoughts.

"We barely survived forming Voltron this one time!" Rivalz added.

"Oh, and you only had to battle one ship," Coran said, "wait until you have to fight a whole fleet of them! Yeah, it's not going to be easy being the Defenders of the Universe."

At this statement, all the paladins gained intrigued looks, replaying the words Coran just said. They turned and looked up at the lions behind them as if they were heavenly beings, which in a way they kind of were.

Suzaku suddenly smirked, before addressing the Black Paladin, "I don't know Lelouch, what you think?"

Lelouch simply smirked his famous smirk. The one Rivalz often saw when Lelouch was playing a 'challenging' opponent when off gambling. A grin that stated that he knew exactly what he was doing and what he was going to do to win the game!

'And here I call check Charles zi Britannia,'

"'Defenders of the Universe' huh? If you ask me Suzaku, I say it has a nice ring to it."

'This is going to be interesting." C.C. thought as the sun's rays seemed to make the lions glow from atop the hill.

o~o

AN: Whew! Finally, Finals are over and done with, so I could finally buckle down and finish this for you guys.

So now that the Pilot episode is officially done, the next story I plan to update with be my Transformers/Naruto crossover like I promised, followed by Akame ga Titan. I hope to try and make a pattern with these stories so that I don't forget to update one and motivate myself to update another.

Sorry if the characters from CG seem OOC, I'm to find a healthy mix of their personalities. Also, just to let you all know, especially in regards to C.C., I don't really plan for any prominent roles for her until maybe after Season 2 of Voltron (with a certain Prince perhaps...?). But if you do spot anything that you think should REALLY be changed for them personality wise, don't hesitate to tell me because I like staying true to their characters.

Also, in regards to Voltron season 3... HOLY CRAP, I KNEW IT! ***** and **** are alive! You'll know what I'm talking about if you've seen the leaked screenshot. MY PRAYERS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED!

In other news, the Lelouch pairing war so far Kallen is in the lead, so for you Shirley/Lelouch shippers that want to see that couple, please speak up, otherwise, I'll never know your desires ;P.

And, before I forget, one of the reviewers remarked about Rai and Lelouch's enhanced Geass (you know who you are) so I went back to chapter 5 and rewrote a little of their fight, so if you haven't yet go back and read it, I changed Lelouch's enhanced ability a little.

And to any readers/reviewers who haven't voted on the poll yet, please do it is still open.

Anyway for further questions, PM me and R&R, please! Thank you!

Review Replies

dsgundam00: Thanks for your patience and I hope you enjoyed these chapters as well.

Wild Arms: The Black Lion is awake. As for taking the fight to Britannia... stay tuned!

TFG (Guest): All lions assembled now, thanks for the patience.

Guest (Guest): Glad you liked it.

Benjustice: Thanks. Yep, we know where that ended up... although I already know what I will give him when he gets it back.

TempestLaw: Thanks for your concern, but I would like to inform you now that unless I say so, I usually don't just abandon my stories. It may take me a long time to update them, but I will often try and finish them. I glad you liked Kallen and Suzaku's interaction, I had fun right that little part. I'm glad I pulled Suzaku off to your liking. As for my plans to the Geass... you'll just have to wait and see (especially with the third Code Geass season announced, we'll see where that goes).

JJsanoguel98: Maybe... you'll have to wait and see.

Mark of Cain: Glad you like it and thank you for your suggestions. I was inspired to incorporate the Geass with the Galra because if you squint, you'll notice the Geass symbol and some of the Galra symbols look similar. Still trying to figure out where I'll take it, in the end, so we'll both see.

tl34lt12: I'll do my best. I have a vague idea where I want to take it, and it will probably mold and change as more Voltron seasons come out!

Spiral-Voltron-Zero0Q1: Well, I hope this is awesome enough for now.


	7. Chapter 7: Some Assembly Required

Chapter 7: Some Assembly Required

All was quiet and peaceful in the Castle of Lions as the sun began to rise over the Arusian horizon slowly. No sign of the Galra anywhere and one of the few precious times to relax and process all that happened the day (days...? How exactly did time work in space?) before.

After dinner, the Paladins had been led to some halls aligned with several bedrooms on the side. It wasn't too far from two large bathrooms, which looked similar to the P.E. showers and locker rooms. One was for the girls and the other for the boys. From the number of small bedrooms, which mostly just consisted of a single bed, a simple set of drawers, and a couple of other hidden compartments, the Castle must have had a very large amount of servants and workers or were used to hosting a large number of visitors at a time as well. They all decided to pick their rooms in the same hallway. Best to stick together after all. Lelouch's was the closest to the intersection leading off in other directions, with Rivalz, Shirley, Kallen, Rai, Milly, and finally Suzaku taking up the rooms past him in that order.

Shirley sighed as the warm water from the Altean shower streamed down her form. Despite the similarity of the locker rooms, all the showers were just as fancy as the rest of the Castle. It took about fifteen minutes for her to make her way through the buttons lining the shower wall, dumping flower petals to what smelled like some sort of lemon-lime juice that almost got in her eyes. THAT would have stung! Despite the confusion though, the Orange Paladin had to admit that the Princess had excellent taste in regards to hair products, taking her sweet time lathering her locks with the sweet vanilla smelling shampoo-

 _ ***BEEP*BEEP*BEEP***_

-Which promptly ended as a resounding shriek echoed through the bathroom, which was joined as one of her own tore through her throat, nearly causing to slip and fall on her face! She only managed to catch herself by bracing her legs on the sides of the stall.

o~o

Rivalz jumped in shock as he tumbled out of bed and tangled himself in his blanket. He struggled to get up for the door, only for the same blanket culprit to trip him by the feet and face plant on the hallway floor.

o~o

 _ **"Everybody up! Zarkon's attacking."**_

Suzaku looked up from mid-push-up, Paladin armor already adjourned, leaping to his feet and racing out the door.

o~o

Milly hummed as she shifted deeper into her cushions, Mozart ringing in her headphones, and a black charcoal face mask soaking up her pores.

o~o

Lelouch tsked and put done the datapad he was looking over. He could tell this wasn't a real attack even without looking at it, but he also was in no mood to get on a 10,000-year-old princess's wrong side.

o~o

 _ **"The castle's about to be destroyed!"**_

Kallen yelped as she all but threw on her turtleneck, snatched up her bayard and scrambled out into the hall.

o~o

 _ **"Go, go, go! We need Voltron now!"**_

Rai jumped, and almost hit his head against the cryo-pod he was dozing against, the laptop sliding off his legs. The Green Paladin hadn't even bothered to go to his room, wanting to question the prisoners they'd picked up the second he could.

But considering the urgency in Allura's voice, it would probably be a bad idea to stall any longer. Pushing himself up, he rushed out the door, Rover trailing behind him.

o~o

"Hurry! We can't survive much longer!"

"You've got to sell it a little bit more," Coran said, taking the device out of Allura's hands.

Clearing his throat, Coran wailed, "Oh no! Allura is dead! Oh, it's horrible! Her head fell off!" he collapsed to his knees, still very much in remorseful character, "A-! Wait! He-Her severed head is trying to speak to me! What is it Allura's head? What are your final words!?" Tears gathered in the advisor's eyes.

"Coran…"

"Oh yes Princess, I'm listening!"

"It's over." she deadpanned.

Not even realizing what she meant, Coran continued and nearly dramatically collapsed onto the floor again, "Oh yes, I know! Augh! If only Voltron had been fooooorrmmmed."

Coran finally looked up, to see the very annoyed faces of the Paladins waiting for him to finish his soap opera. "Oh! TIME!" he shot up, accidentally tossing the com behind him in the process.

"Can I assume from the theatrics, that this isn't an actual attack?" Lelouch remarked, arms crossed, lips pulled back in an annoyed frown. The other present Paladins looked just as irked. Besides Suzaku, Lelouch was the only one in full uniform and guessing from the state of Kallen's shirt, she had just been getting dressed when the alarms went off but had been wise enough to bring her bayard in her rush. On the other hand, Rai and Rivalz still looked half asleep, the former in his casual dark blue shirt, grey jacket, and black jeans, the later only in his pajamas. Shirley was shivering and blushing cherry red in embarrassment as the only garment of clothing she wore was her orange bathrobe with a towel wrapping up her soaking wet, shampoo-filled hair.

Allura didn't seem to notice the annoyance as she stared sternly at them. "And it's a good thing it wasn't because it took you- Coran?"

"Seventy-five degrees," he answered. Allura blinked… that wasn't a time slice. Coran seemed to notice too as he registered the device he was actually holding in his hand, "Oh! Sorry! No, this is a meat thermometer."

Allura sighed in annoyance, "However long it was, it was too long! You must always be ready to battle against Zarkon. Look at you! Only Lelouch and Suzaku are in uniform, and at least Kallen brought her bayard! Rai, Rivalz, Shirley, where are your bayards? And where's Milly?"

As if on cue, the Yellow Paladin came strolling through the door, sporting cute lion-headed slippers, pajamas, and bathrobe, holding a cup of tea in her hand, her hair already styled in her signature curls, and face smooth and pimple free. "Good 'meow'ning everybody!" she greeted with a small yawn, "What's going on?"

"Coran and I have been up for hours getting the castle back in order," Allura explained tartly, "We had to run a test on the alarms, and we decided to test you as well." The princess glared daggers at Milly while folding her arms behind her back, "Guess which one failed?"

"Well, you could've given at least a day to process all that's happened!" Shirley blurted out, still flabbergasted from having her shower interrupted.

"Yeah, what Shirley said!" Rivalz agreed, "You-" he yawned, "you got to sleep for ten thousand years! Monday, we were ordinary school kids on Earth, and since then, a magic lion has flown us through space, we've fought some evil alien named Zarkon, eaten goo in some weird sci-fi castle… that's a lot to process in… um… I don't know, what day is it today?"

"It the third quintant of the spicolian movement. Hump day!" Coran cheerfully replied.

'Wednesday,' everyone thought in astonishment. They'd been missing from Earth for two days already!?

"What Rivalz means to say, is that this is simply a lot of process for only a couple of days," Lelouch stated in slight annoyance. Though the prince himself had already had many experiences with only days to process, this was also a bit much.

Allura sighed again, not in annoyance this time, but more out of concern and fatigue.

"You must understand the stakes of our mission," a holopad appear by her head and pushed a few buttons on the screen, "over the last ten thousand years, the castle picked up distress beacons from the following locations," the screen disappeared to reveal the star map from their first day. Instead of blue planets, stars, and comets, however, ominous red glows covered almost all of them with a few still blue ones in the outer edges of the holograms. "So we have to assume that Zarkon has conquered almost the entire known universe," she swiped her hand to the right towards the still majority blue area, landing on a small bright solar system only about a foot from the red border, "Earth is here, an attack on your planet is inevitable."

"Oh no!" Shirley gasped in horror, similar expressions plastered on the other paladins' faces.

"Exactly," the princess nodded as the holomap pixelated out, "our mission is to free all those planets. Coran and I are getting the castle ready to leave Arus. During that time, you have to learn to form Voltron, so that we can begin fighting Zarkon."

"The princess is right," Suzaku said, turning to Lelouch, who nodded, "let's get to the Lions and start training."

"Wait!" Rai protested, "But I want to talk to the prisoners we rescued from the Galra ship."

"Ah, negative number one-I have you all ranked by height, okay?" he missed the slight wince Kallen and Lelouch gave at the proclamation, "The prisoners need to remain the cryo-replenishers until tomorrow."

"That's right. Now, get to your lions." Allura ordered.

"Uh hold on!" Rivalz piped up, "What exactly are we going to be doing in them? We're not gonna be shooting at each other are we?"

"Yeah," Shirley said, trying to tighten her robe to preserve her modesty, "Unlike most of you we've never even stepped foot in a Knightmare, so how's this supposed to work?"

"GUTS!" Milly suddenly shouted, making Coran and even Allura jump.

"The 'Guts' spell again Prez?" Kallen asked in annoyance.

"Yep! We may not be in student council anymore, but the Princess does mean well, we'll never figure out how to work the Lions if we don't practice!"

"Spell?" Coran asked inquisitively, "I did not know that humans were capable so such feats."

"It's just something Prez has done to try to motivate us; it's not real magic per se." Suzaku tried to explain.

"Actually!" Rai grinned, "It's got me going already, Milly!"

"Subtle and willing, that's what I like to see!"

"Very well, now that you're all motivated get moving!" Allura ordered, pleased to see that some of them were willing to take charge.

"That's not exactly what I was going for Princess," Milly suddenly smirked. The hair on the back of Shirley and Kallen's neck stood on end.

'Why do I have a bad feeling about this?' the Red Paladin asked.

"You're a ten," Allura blinked in confusion. What on Alaaran did that have to do with anything? Then she followed where Milly's eyes were looking at. "At least at first glance. For someone who's over ten thousand years old you're filling out in all the right places, aren't you Princess?"

Shirley and Kallen turned beet red while Rai and Rivalz struggled to hold back laughter. Lelouch only pinches the bridge of his nose while Suzaku shares an equally mortified look with Allura.

"Why you-!"

"I am being left out of something?"

Allura's confounded response was interrupted when C.C. trudged into the room — adorned in her straight jacket that she had been wearing the previous day. Lelouch made a mental note to ask Allura for some extra clothes for her. The mysterious woman had been quiet the last day, not even going through the trouble to bother Lelouch before bed. Come to think of it, Lelouch wasn't even sure where C.C. had decided to sleep.

'I guess even immortal witches need time to process chains of events.' Lelouch concluded.

"Besides questioning prisoners," Suzaku said turning his attention back to Lelouch again, "you still need to explain to us who she is and what she's doing here."

"You do realize I'm still in the room right?" C.C. asked, now leaning against the wall.

"Yes, I know Suzaku," Lelouch exhaled, "but that'll have to wait. All of you, to your lions now… after of course you've changed Shirley." giving a sympathetic look at the Orange Paladin who only blushed harder in embarrassment.

"No need for that!" Coran said, "once you step through the elevators leading to your lion's hangers, if not dressed in it already, you'll be dressed in your uniform automatically!"

"Okay, uh, handy!" Shirley squeaked. The thought of being dressed automatically like that made her skin crawl for some reason, but a magic alien castle. Who knew?

"Enough," Lelouch said in finality, "to the lions now!"

The Paladins each marched their way into the elevators positioned conveniently next to their color-coded seats on the deck, except for Lelouch's, positioned in the center of the bridge. Lowering the Paladins (all now fully clothed just as Coran said, much to Shirley's relief) down it took about 10 seconds until an opening appeared, revealing a zip line, which zoomed them through a brightly colored tunnel for each respected lion and paladin. The zip line by far was a new experience for all the Earthlings, they'd heard of a couple of famous and amazing zip lines back on Earth, particularly in areas that used to be known as South America before Britannia took it over into different areas. Ones that zipped through leafy treetops and colorful birds and other wild beasts roamed freely. They were told that some of them lasted for several long minutes with only your the wind in your hair, and the green scenery flitting past.

Once the zip line ended, they dropped down through a hatch and into what appeared to be a single-personed motorbike, which drove them up to another elevator specifically large enough for it. They were lifted up until the bikes themselves disappeared into the chests and lower compartments of each lion, and it wasn't long until the Lions let out a mighty roar and darted out into the courtyard of the castle.

"Alright Paladins," Lelouch's commanding voice echoed in the comms, "we'll fly in tight formation until we're completely in sync."

Allura's smiling face appeared on the screen within each Lion, "Feel the bond with your Lions and your fellow pilots until seven become one unit, and you form Voltron!"

"YEAH!" everyone shouted as their lions leaped into the sky the same formation as they when they first formed Voltron.

Nothing.

"Yeah!" they shouted again as they swooped back around, trying to connect with the Lions… somehow.

Nothing.

Thirty minutes later...

"...Yay…!" less than enthusiastic replies followed. The Lions slowed until they came at last to a distal stop.

"Woooo…. Am I the only one who's still pretending to be excited?" Rivalz asked. None answered as mirrored expressions of frustrations and scowls of annoyance presented themselves on each of the Paladins.

"This isn't working," Lelouch admitted, "Let's set down for a little bit."

"Maybe we should be building Voltron from the ground up." Suzaku suddenly suggested.

"What do you mean?" asked Rai, not quite following Suzaku's train of thought. Wasn't that what they were trying to do?

"I mean let's try literally building Voltron, like, stacking on top of each other."

"What? Like one of those cliche cheerleader pyramids?" Kallen scoffed. That was a ridiculous idea! What even made the Purple Paladin come up with that?

"Well if you've got a better idea, Kallen, I'm all ears," Suzaku shot back.

Lelouch sighed. He thought the idea was ridiculous too, but he honestly couldn't think of another thing that they could try. They'd been flying around the Arusian plain for almost an hour, or varga as the Alteans called it! The answer couldn't possibly be that simple.

"Fine! We can give it a try." he consented.

The Paladins quickly moved into position to try and 'build' Voltron. And seemed to work… except...

"Rivalz, what are you doing?" Lelouch asked incredulously.

"What do you mean?" the Blue Paladin replied.

"Rivalz Cardemonde, you're supposed to be the lower leg! Down here!" Milly scolded from almost the bottom of the pile. Currently, Suzaku and Shirley were standing side by side, with Kallen and Milly on top of them, Rai and the Green Lion perched on top of the Yellow Lion, and the Black Lion semi on top of the Red and Green Lions…. With Rivalz and the Blue Lion parked on top of the Black Lion's wings.

"What?" Rivalz asked, surprised and confused, "No. No, no, no. I'm pretty sure when we did it last time I was the head. Right?"

"You yelled, 'I'm a leg!'" Shirley reminded him.

"Yeah, last I checked we all were yelling a lot of things!"

"Lelouch is the head," Kallen stated a little aggressively. 'Stinkin' Britannians!'

"All the time?" Rivalz almost whined.

Lelouch let out another sigh, "Let's just try it my way for now!"

Rivalz pouted in defeat, "Okay, but next time I call head!"

The Lions quickly shifted into the correct positions as Lelouch slowly lowered the Black Lion down. Rivalz and Shirley were at the bottom, with Milly and Suzaku on top of them, Kallen and Rai over them, and Black on top.

"Okay. Arms and legs… and I'll form the head." Lelouch instructed himself. He set the Black Lion gently on top of the pyramid. Lelouch blew out, "All right, feel the bonds with your lions. Now, channel your energy into forming Voltron. Focus. Focus."

Two minutes later…

"Is everyone bonding and focusing?" Lelouch asked as the Lions had not moved once from their spot in the plane.

Kallen growled in frustration, "Why did this seem so much easier before?!"

"For some reason, I figured this would be more like piloting the Knightmares," Suzaku commented, "but… guess not."

Lelouch breathed out a sigh, "Let's take a break." He needed some time to think about this. Kallen did have a point; it was a lot easier to form Voltron yesterday. Could it have been part of the adrenaline rush and the imminent danger?

His train of thought was cut short though when Allura's face appeared on their dashes again. "Sorry to interrupt, but I may be able to help. Yesterday, you weren't able to form Voltron until you were in the heat of battle."

Lelouch blinked as that was what he had been thinking of as the other Paladins all replied in agreement of the concept. The attack had indeed forced them to have to work together and to believe as one being. Practically an extreme example of the fight or flight method. But… something in his gut suddenly plummeted as well. It was a similar feeling he got when Milly was about to spring some completely outlandish scheme onto them.

"Perfect," the Princess smiled as she pushed a few more keys and buttons on the castle's screen, "Because I need to run a diagnostic test on all the Castle's defenses. This should help!"

Lelouch's suspicions were confirmed as the shield sprang to life on the Castle… and then started shooting blue lasers at them!

"RUN!" Lelouch shouted just as the first lasers hit the field. Clouds of fire and smoke enveloped them as the Lions took off in all directions, frantically dodging the blasts.

"Princess! What are you doing?!" Suzaku shouted.

"Running a diagnostic test on the Castle's defenses," Allura casually answered as if endangering the only hope to the universe was a normal matter for her, "and inspiring you! I believe in you Paladins! Let fear be your guide! Form Voltron!"

"Nevermind! I'll take Milly's schemes any time over this!" Shirley screamed.

"Forget this!" Rivalz exclaimed, "I'm heading back to the Castle!"

"Rivalz wait!" Kallen called as the Blue Lion bounded up the hill to escape. Upon leaping towards the barrier though, Rivalz was met with a surprise as his lion bounced off of it and tumbled back down.

"Princess!" Milly screamed, "Shouldn't you be using a more practical method of inspiration?"

"You think Zarkon's going to be 'practical' with you?" Allura chastised the Yellow Paladin harshly, "He's probably on his way here right now to destroy us all!"

With that final word of encouragement, the Princess pressed a button on the screen. All seven of the colored dots were joined with four dark blue arrows. 'Auto-lock-on engaged.' Allura then left the bridge as the screaming Paladins struggled to survive the new onslaught of 'friendly fire.'

o~o

"You've returned early," a booming voice observed from the main throne room, "Did you complete your mission?"

A trembling Galran soldier knelt before the throne. "Sir, the moon's crust became unstable." he explained with a bowed head, "Staying any longer would have cost half my crew."

Zarkon's scowl didn't leave his face, and only seemed to grow darker, "Hmm, perhaps, but the half that survived would have been stronger."

The commander looked up slightly in shock, "Weakness is an infection, better to cut it off, then let it spread."

The commander blinked. What was the emperor referring to? Two metal arms suddenly seized him and started dragging him from the room, terror filling his eyes.

Not even blinking as the commander was dragged off, Zarkon turned his attention to the woman next to him. "What have you and your druids come up with to capture Voltron?"

"I have been working on perfecting something. Something that will strike fear into the hearts of any that stand against it. Voltron may have surprised Sendak, but he will not be able to overcome my creation."

o~o

"Are we at full power on condenser number five yet?" Allura questioned Coran as the two of them entered the small lounge, both carrying small devices to monitor the Castle maintenance.

"No," Coran sighed, "still just at eighty-four percent."

Allura looked up and was pleasantly surprised to see that most of the Paladins were laid out upon the benches. If they were inside that had to mean-!

"You did it! You formed Voltron!"

"No," Kallen sighed, "The shooting stopped, and the particle barrier shut down, so we just flew in."

The smile on Allura's face vanished, being replaced with a scowl. "What?!"

Coran smiled awkwardly, "Oh right, uh, sorry Princess I had to turn off the Castle defenses to test the fire suppressors."

"Considering we were fighting for our lives outside," Lelouch commented walking in with Suzaku, "we issued a small mental break to recover."

"We know you want us to be training Princess," Suzaku added, "but we're not Alteans. We don't understand the Lions as you appear to."

"Yeah, and when are we going back to Earth?" Rivalz asked almost desperately.

"I'm not going back until I find my family!" Rai declared cold blue eyes narrowed.

"Did it occur to you that there won't be an Earth to return to until Zarkon is defeated?!" Allura demanded.

"We do understand that!" Shirley protested, looking close to tears with frustration and pressure, "But how do you expect us to do this if we can't even form Voltron?!"

"Well, I'm not surprised," Coran said, a thoughtful expression on his face, "You know, the original Paladins fought hundreds of battles together, side-by-side. They were like a pack of yalmors linked at the ears," he pretended to pull at his mustache to demonstrate.

"Normally that would be us…" Milly admitted as she flopped down on her back, "But considering the events as of late, all of us are off our game lately."

"During the last attack, your survival instincts forced you to work as a team," the advisor continued, "but that will only get you so far. You'll have to become a real team to have any chance of forming Voltron and then beating Zarkon next time. You should try working out on the training deck."

This peaked Suzaku's attention, "There's a training deck?"

o~o

Haggar moved gracefully and with purpose down the hall. She was confident that with the inexperience of the new paladins that her creation would crush them into nothingness. But for this project to come to fruition, she needed some… assistance.

A dark cell door at the end of the hall hissed open as four of her faithful Druids stood guard. Her glowing Yellow eyes gazed at the large, boisterous creature in the cell.

"I think I have the opportunity you've been waiting for. How would you like to get your revenge against the Champion?"

Yellow eyes almost identical to her own narrowed in delight before stepping forward. An array of razor teeth shone behind his sinister smile.

o~o

"Two, two, one, two," Coran mumbled after clearing his throat. He was standing in what appeared to be an observation tower, shielded with a thick panel of glass. A Bluetooth-like device with a microphone was attached to his left ear. "Okay, listen up everyone! The Paladin code demands that you put your team members' safety above your own."

Coran's voice echoed through the training deck. The seven paladins were facing outward, away from the others. The training deck's color was similar to the rest of the Castle consisting of bright blue lights with white and black metal paneling.

"A swarm of drones is about to attack," Coran informed them as a hiss issued from above them. Looking toward it, they saw that a bunch of circular white robots was gliding towards them. It reminded Rivalz vaguely of the drone that Luke Skywalker trained his lightsaber with, in the fourth Star Wars movie. They began to circle them, surrounded.

Kallen, Suzaku, Rai, Milly, and Lelouch all shifted into defensive stances, their blue shields springing to life. Shirley and Rivalz were a little slower but soon followed.

"Get ready," Lelouch ordered, right before the first drone fired right at Shirley's head.

With a gasp of panic, she ducked, covering her head. The blast flew over her, but ended up hitting Rivalz square in the back!

Before the Blue Paladin could even discern what had happened, the floor opened up underneath him, before he fell into it with a shout of alarm!

"Protect your teammate!" Coran ordered again, "Or no one will be there to protect you!" As he said this, another shot hit Shirley in the shoulder, and with a shriek, she fell through the floor as well.

Gritting their teeth, the five remaining Paladins found themselves back to back, shields practically in front of their faces. So far it seemed to be working though, no blasts hit anyone, the shields efficiently absorbing them.

"Time to increase intensity," Coran commanded as the drones began to spin so fast it became a blur, more shots were firing at rapid speed as everyone struggled to block them.

"You keeping up over there everyone?" Rai asked with a slightly cocky smirk.

"Just focus on keeping us safe!" Kallen barked back.

"Quit talking and focus," Milly yelled, gritting her teeth, pulling the shield closer still.

The drones then lowered and began shooting at their legs. Most of the Paladins were able to kneel in time, but one shot a very low blast which would've hit Rai's leg, had the Green Paladin not lifted his leg to dodge in his quick moment of panic… which ended up hitting Milly in the back, where she disappeared with a shriek through the floor. Still caught in his shocked stupor, Rai didn't have time to block as another shot hit him in the stomach.

"Rai!" Suzaku yelled, looking behind as the boy fell through. This moment of weakness cost him though, as another drone shot him right in the forehead, where he crashed into Kallen! After the Red Paladin fell square eagle on her stomach, they both fell through the floor.

Lelouch's eyes widened as he saw that he was now alone. It didn't last long though as a shot hit his hand that was holding the shield with enough force to skid backward. And just like with the others, the former prince was joined with the floor.

Coran groaned as he rubbed his forehead. Some of these humans claimed that they were military, and that was anything but that from what he could see. Whatever 'military' experience they claimed to have must be something much different from Altea-

"You know-"

"Yaaaeerrrggg!" Coran shot two feet in the air against the window as a shriek of his own escaped his lips, clutching his chest and gasping for air as C.C. ('How does she sneak around so QUIETLY?!') made her presence known on the control deck. The green haired human(?) had a playful smirk on her face and looked like she was trying very hard not to laugh.

"Madam!" he seethed as he mustache bristled in fury and embarrassment, "Quit doing that!"

"Doing what?" C.C. asked innocently, cocking her head slightly like a curious toddler.

The Altean huffed as the Paladins were all slowly brought back up to the surface.

"As I was saying," C.C. continued, walking up to stand next to him, "if this were real combat, a couple of them would still be standing, foot, hand, and shoulder shots aren't necessarily fatal unless hit in a certain location, like an artery or vein. The head, back, and stomach I'd understand. But if this were real life, I believe at least Shirley, and Lelouch would still be fighting, and considering Suzaku's 'corpse'," she made quotation signs with her hands to prove her point, "fell on top of Kallen, resulting in her falling with him, we'd still have three Paladins standing, injured, but standing."

Coran stroked his mustache as he saw the logic of C.C.'s reasoning. Hitting a few buttons on the deck, he began instructing them again.

"Alright, Paladins! Let's try again! This time the floor is programmed to open if you're blasted in a vital area. If you're arm or leg is hit, you can still technically defend yourself and your team. For example…"

One of the drones blasted an unaware Rai in the shin. The Green Paladin yelped as the shocking pain swelled up his leg. He was able to hop on the other for a couple of seconds before tipping backward, bracing himself for the floor to open up and swallow him… but nothing happened.

"Huh?" a confused gasp before registering he was still on the surface, "Nothing happ-" he attempted to rise up but lost balance again when his leg refused to budge. "What the?! My leg!"

"Afraid you lost your limb number one!" Coran informed, as Suzaku ran over and slung his arm over his shoulder, "you'd have to make do without it if this was a real fight."

Rai grumbled as the numbness soon dissipated, shaking his now working leg of the pins and needles.

"Alright everyone, shields at the ready!"

o~o

Now for the record, the last sequence went a little better than the first one. Almost immediately the team clustered together, shields up and determined to protect their section of the circle. But as shots continued to fly and small mistakes were made, the formation crumble. This time it was Lelouch that fell first, suffering a shot to the head, his head jerking forward and tumbling head first through the floor. After that though, it wasn't long before the others joined him.

From what Coran could tell, the team seemed to be relying heavily on the Black Paladin as their foundation. While he admired the trust, they seemed to have for Lelouch, in other circumstances, this might not be the best case. They would have to learn to rely on not just their leader, but each other as well. There would be situations where Lelouch would be either out of commission, due to injury or otherwise.

Hence the reasoning for the next exercise.

Kallen was standing in the middle of the training deck, surrounded by a vast transparent maze, which soon flickered out of existence. Or so she believed.

"To form Voltron, you must trust in each other. This ancient Paladin maze will teach you that trust. Your teammate can see the walls, but you can not. So, listen carefully, if you touch the walls you'll get a slight shock."

Kallen took a deep breath as she placed her helmet on her head. For some reason, she wasn't looking forward to this exercise. Maybe it was all the practice she'd had of feigning her identity, but she didn't trust most people at all. This was going to 'fun.'

"Okay," she sighed, "who is guiding me through?"

"Take two steps forward." Suzaku's voice rang over the comm.

She growled a little, why was she always partnered with Suzaku?!

Coran seemed to have noticed the hostile expression and spoke up, "Now, just sit tight. You'll get your turn."

"As I said Kallen, take two steps forward, turn right, and take three steps in that direction," Suzaku repeated.

With a huff of annoyance, Kallen took a step forward-

"GAH!" she cried as the wall she hit electrocuted her, "What the quiznack Kururugi?!"

"Kallen, you're not listening to me!" Suzaku said in an exasperated tone.

"You said 'turn right'!" she shot back,

"But before that," Suzaku corrected in a tone he hoped sounded calm, "I said 'Take two steps forward,'"

The Red Paladin growled in frustration, why did this seem more natural when Zero was giving orders back home? "Two steps-" she screamed again as she hit the wall… again.

"WE'RE SWITCHING PLACES! NOW!"

o~o

Despite the small hiccup with Kallen and Suzaku, most of the other Paladins made it through the maze with little trouble, much to Coran's relief.

Now the Paladins were back in their lions and soaring through the atmosphere of Arus in tight formation. The Black Lion in the front, the Red, Yellow, and Blue Lions to the right of it, and the Green, Purple, and Orange Lions to the left.

"You'll never be able to form Voltron unless each of you has a strong bond with your Lion," Coran instructed from down in the castle.

Rivalz grins proudly, "No problem! Me and Blue and are best buds for life, for real!"

"Perfect!" Coran said, "Then you should have no issues with this exercise. Everyone, put your Lions into a nosedive!"

With almost excited growls, the seven Lions dove towards the ground at the speed of a bullet.

"This is an expert-level drill that you really shouldn't attempt until you've been flying for years, but uh, we're in a bit of a rush, so here we go. Activating training helmets." Coran says as another screen pops up with a button that he promptly pushes.

Simultaneously, the Paladins' helmets all went dark. They couldn't even see their hand in front of their face. Yelps and gasps from all the Paladins resulted.

"Coran what's happening?!" Shirley screamed.

"I can't see!" Rai yelled.

"You must learn to see through your Lion's eyes. The goal is to pull up right before you crash into the ground. Feel what the Lion feels!" Despite the instruction, most of the Paladins had the same thought rolling through their head: 'ARE. YOU. CRAZY?!'

Shirley was the first to pull out. Heart pounding so hard she could barely breathe, tears starting to form in her eyes. "Mine feels scared!" she whimpered as she pulled back on the handlebars and slammed on the pedals. The Orange Lion pulled out of formation.

The Blue and Yellow Lions were neck and neck as they continued to charge for the ground.

"You still going, Milly?" Rivalz asked a confidant, but a slightly flirty smirk on his face.

"You know it!" she replied, eyes focused, trying to connect to the lion, "You?"

"Going? I'm speeding up!" Rivalz challenged as he hurled the handle forward.

Milly raised her eyebrows in amusement, mimicking him, "Oh yeah?"

The two lions rapidly picked up speed as the ground began to get dangerously closer. Due to the Blue Lion being slightly slimmer than the Yellow Lion, Rivalz held the lead by nearly an inch.

"Must be getting close," Rivalz remarked friskily.

"Must be!" Milly replied, smirking almost evilly, "What's wrong? Scared?"

Rivalz mouth dropped, "I'm not scared-!"

The Blue Paladin didn't have more time to protest further as he was almost knocked out of his seat as both he Milly crashed into the dune below, burying them waist deep, head first!

They both groaned from the impact as the Blue Lion ungracefully tumbled out back down the hill.

"I… win…" Rivalz muttered, his head still spinning. Maybe that wasn't the best idea after all.

"What was that noise?" Rai asked, alarmed, "Did they crash?!"

Pulse fluctuating, Rai pulled back on the controls, promptly ending the nosedive. The good news was that he didn't entirely crash but unfortunately didn't pull up quite fast enough to nick the side of the rocky canyon, taking a good chunk out of it.

Lelouch, Kallen, and Suzaku were the only ones left still participating in the exercise. The three pilots were perfectly calm, eyes closed and focused. Recalling the sensation, they felt when they connected with their lions the other day; they concentrated on reviving the same feeling.

Their eyes then opened, Lelouch's Geass flashing in his left retina. There it was, the simultaneous chill and warmth coursing through them as they felt their consciousness dip into a terrain they never knew existed. The loud purrs of their Lions pulsed through their veins, as they felt their presence overshadow them like a blanket or cape, their souls uniting and lining up with their own.

In a flash of gold, the world appeared before their eyes, racing past them as they continued to dive towards the surface. None of them seemed too concerned about it though. Flawlessly, as if they HAD been flying for years, they activated their thrusters, just seconds before they collided with the soil. The thrusters propelled them forward across the plain, dodging over rocks and arches, and riding over dips and hills. They were flying them while their eyes were still closed!

"I think I'm getting this," Lelouch said.

"This is… amazing!" Kallen muttered.

"That wasn't too difficult," Suzaku smirked.

"Lelouch, Kallen, Suzaku, excellent!" Coran praised as they glided back towards the sky.

o~o

After everyone returned to the Castle and recovered from the flight exercise, the Paladins found themselves in the training room once again. This time, the Paladins were sitting in a circle, legs crossed, hands in their lap, and eyes closed. On each of their heads appeared to be a piece of fancy headgear, with blue lights probing at their temples and in the middle of their foreheads.

"Now the most important part of Paladin training is being able to meld your minds and focus on one thing: Voltron." Coran calmly instructed in a soothing tone, sounding almost like a yoga instructor.

As the Paladins focused, small screens appeared in front of each of their faces, portraying different things.

Rivalz's showed an image of downtown Area 11 near where he worked.

"Everything else has to fade away."

Milly's showed Ashford Academy's Clubhouse.

"This technique will be essential every time you form Voltron."

Shirley's was the Academy pool.

"So, relax and open your mind."

Suzaku's was an image of a pretty girl with light purple eyes and long pink hair that past her waist, partially in two buns and circles. She was wearing a white and green blouse with an orange skirt and red flats.

"No walls."

Rai had a picture of his favorite park in Area 11.

"No secrets between Paladins."

Kallen's had a picture of her in a yellow tank top and brown shorts, holding some sodas in her hands and smiling next to a boy with short auburn hair wearing a red headband, a black shirt, red jacket, and grey jeans. Next to him was another man with curly greyish-brown hair, wearing a light pink shirt and khaki pants, with a light blue towel draped over his shoulders. The picture though was hard to make out as it kept glitching.

"Come on, everyone, clear everything."

Finally, Lelouch's showed a young, beautiful young girl, with long, wavy, light brown hair, eyes closed, wearing a simple green and white dress. She had a beautiful, innocent smile on her face and was sitting in a comfortable looking, power-operated wheelchair. A small, barely noticeable tear trailed down the ex-prince's face.

"Now, focus on forming your Lion."

The images glitched out until they formed small three-dimensional pictures of the robots in front of them.

"Bring your Lions together and- and form Voltron." All the lions slowly started making their way towards the center of the circle.

"Keep your minds open; work together."

They were almost there, pieces beginning to mold together…

"Good! Keep focusing!"

...Well… all except for one.

"Kallen!" Suzaku barked, peeved, "stopping thinking about your boyfriend!"

"I wasn't!" Kallen growled eyebrows arched down in anger, all the images flashing out of existence, "Shirley was rooting around in my head!"

'And for the record,' she added mentally, secretly deeply offended, 'that was _not_ my boyfriend!'

"I-I thought we were open," Shirley hesitantly argued, "you can look in my head hole."

"Everyone has to able to look in everyone's head holes!" Coran reminded sternly from the observation deck above, "Clear your minds!"

Sighing in resignation, Kallen closed her eyes, and this time, the Red Lion's image materialized before her along with the other Lions with the other Paladins.

"Good! Almost there." Coran said as the Lions all began joining together. "Now, form Voltron," Leg joints were attached, a body made up, and arms were slowly locking into place. "Yes!"

Just as the Green Lions was locked into place though, the Black Lion's images glitched violently.

Lelouch's head jerked up with a violent gasp as if he'd been shocked, eyes snapping open, his left eye glowing red as his Geass flickered. Rai cried out as well as he buckled, his eyes scrunching shut in pain. The other Paladins soon followed as a sharp pain seemed to pierce through their skulls, their headsets glowing a brighter blue, Voltron falling to pieces as the Lelouch's image overtook their own.

When the screen finally cleared an image of a stairway, as if looking down it from the top. Blood was splattered everywhere as three, no, four figures lay in pools of it. Two of them were men dressed in very fine, expensive-looking suites, while the others two, at the very bottom of the steps, was of a woman in an orange dressed, and long flowing dark hair, covered in bullet holes and blood. Her eyes, presumably a soft, gentle purple, were now faded and dull. In her arms was the trembling form of a little girl, eyes staring forward, traumatized and frightened, hands twitching uncontrollably. Stained glass and the remains of a chandelier were littered all around the sides.

There was screaming, and the Paladins couldn't tell if it was coming from them or this memory. They didn't have time to draw conclusions though as they all were suddenly flung backward, the image shattered.

Lelouch blinked, the pain in his head gone. It registered that someone was speaking next to him. Coran's mustached face slowly swam into focus.

"-ladins! Lelouch are you alright?"

"Coran?" Lelouch breathed, shaking his head to clear it, "What happened?"

"Ah… I wish I could tell you myself. An unexpected glitch with the mind-meld device it seems," the advisor said, doing his best to answer. In all honesty, in his many years of watching King Alfor and the other Paladins train and bond, he never saw anything like this. Though he didn't voice it aloud, he suspected the mind-meld somehow triggered a traumatic memory for Lelouch, and because all the other Paladins were linked to it, they got caught up in it as well, causing some sort of psychic whiplash.

The prince himself quickly realized that the others were talking as well. Anxious and worried expressions plastered on their faces.

"You okay buddy?"

"Lelouch, what was that?"

"What happened?!"

"Was that Nunnally? What happened?"

"Enough!" Lelouch leaped to his feet, though unsteadily, "I don't want to talk about it, so just leave it OKAY?!"

Every flinched back a little at the outburst but eventually complied.

As everyone watched Lelouch breathe to calm down, Milly and Suzaku were the only ones that looked the least shocked, but no less disturbed. Both of them knew what memory that was. It was one that cost Milly's family their nobility status, as well as what led Lelouch and his sister, Nunnally, being sent to Japan in the first place. Both of them knew the story, but seeing it with their own eyes just now only seemed to amplify the reality of it even further.

The day that Empress Marianne vi Britannia was found shot to death at Aries Villa in the Britannian Palace.

o~o

Coran decided to take the silence as a way to call a break time, handing out small packages of water that looked very similar in design to Capri Suns on Earth. Despite the appreciated rest, Lelouch didn't miss the suspicious and anxious looks that all but Milly and Suzaku were giving him. He even noticed Coran shoot him one before he could hide.

"Fantastic…" he muttered low enough that no one heard, sucking forcibly on his straw.

"You all have been working hard. A small break may help." Coran said overlooking them.

Their break was short-lived however when Allura came tromping through the door, hands on her hips and the four mice perched on her shoulders. "What are you doing lying around?! You're supposed to be training!"

"Just resting a bit," Coran calmly explained, not in the mood to explain as to why they were, "You know, you can't push too hard."

That didn't seem to appease the princess at all as she shot back, "What do you mean, 'can't push too hard'?" The princess seemed to miss the exasperated looks that most of the paladins were giving her, except Suzaku who was actually quite used to being ordered around harshly like this. Kallen especially looked bitter, almost purposefully slurping her drink loudly.

"Get up, you lazy lumps! It's time you face the Gladiator!"

o~o

After her rather harsh order, the Paladins soon found themselves in similar positions for when they were fighting the drones, backs facing each other, but much farther apart now.

"In order to defeat the Gladiator, seven Paladins must fight as one," Coran instructed back up in the deck.

A port from the ceiling soon opened up with a hiss, and a giant, slender humanoid bot gracefully fell to the floor, a battle staff clutched in its hands. With a flash of blue light, it charged at the first paladin it saw, which happened to be Shirley.

With a gasp of panic, Shirley readied her bow and fired a series of shots that she tried to aim at it, only for Kallen to have to throw up her shield to keep them from hitting her. With a fast spin, the Gladiator knocked the Orange Paladin off her feet, causing her to fall hard on her back. With the wind already knocked out of her, the Gladiator's staff struck her stomach with an electrical spark, knocking her unconscious.

Milly quickly charged it with her kusarigama, only for the attack to be blocked with the staff. It barraged the Yellow Paladin with a series of violent strikes which she managed to block with the chain part of her weapon. But eventually, with a sharp jab at her ribs, she was also flung backward, hitting Shirley in the process.

Rivalz used this opportunity to fire some shots with his rifle, but the Gladiator danced around the shots like a pro, causing Rivalz to have to block and back away defensively. Eventually, it knocked the gun from his hands, and the bot hit him hard on the head, before swinging around almost clocking off Lelouch's if he hadn't ducked.

'How does the Princess expect me to fight?! I don't even have a weapon!' Lelouch ranted mentally as he tried to summon that strange power that he got last time he had fought the weird red lightning, but either that was a one-time fluke or could only be done in certain environments.

The Gladiator then hit Rivalz again before also sweeping him in the stomach, twirling him around until he crashed into Lelouch, knocking them both to the ground.

Rai flashed his katar out and knelt in ready position for the Gladiator to approach. As it charged, the room suddenly grew dark, bright blue being replaced with vile magenta. No longer a Gladiator charging, but a whole legion of sentries. Galra sentries.

With a terrified whimper, Rai froze, eyes blown wide like a deer caught in headlights.

Suzaku managed to jump in front of him though and blocked the strike for the Green Paladin with his own bayard. Kallen was by his side a moment later.

"Rai, what wrong?" she asked, "Are you okay?"

Suzaku grit his teeth as the robot moved, aiming to disarm and trip him, but Suzaku saw the movement and jumped to avoid the strike. Kallen pushed Rai out of the way as the bot leaped over Suzaku for her. Her cestus managed to catch the staff between its claws, and with a quick twist, the staff went flying in the other direction. Suzaku took the opportunity and sliced through the bot's abdomen. With a shutter, it collapsed before dissolving into the floor.

Despite the ultimate victory though, Allura was not impressed.

"That combat simulator was set at a level fit for an Altean child! You're not even close to working as a team, let alone ready to face Zarkon!"

"Oh really!" Kallen finally exploded, she'd had about enough with this lady, alien princess or not, "Thanks for a load of confidence! Well newsflash Princess: We're. Not. Alteans! While we've been in this room working our asses off all day, I haven't exactly seen you participating in any this bull!"

"Kallen!" Suzaku gasped in slight horror, though he had to agree with her partially, his patience simmering as well. But who on Earth was this girl? What happened to the sick, feeble Kallen Stadtfeld they were all used to? From the looks on most of the others, except Lelouch, they were all thinking very similarly.

"Yeah, I said it! Besides, you didn't even give Lelouch a weapon! I get that we don't have his bayard thingy right now, but you could've at least given him a knife, or a gun, or something!"

Allura, absolutely appalled by the lack of respect was about to retaliate when another voice beat her to it.

"You know," C.C. casually walked down from the deck she'd occupied with Coran, "if you really wish to know how they'll take this training to the battlefield, I'd recommend a more… strategic approach."

"What are you talking about?" Allura snapped. She'd had just about enough of this nonsense and insubordination.

"Well, think about it," the green-haired woman continued, "sure, strength and brawn are essential in battle, but they can easily become worthless and overbearing if they know not where to place it. It takes strategy and a sound mind to truly win. All I'm trying to say is that if you wish to know how well they'll survive, you need to test them… mentally as well."

Coran, intrigued with C.C.'s logic, asked for further clarification.

"I'm not exactly sure how your people had risen through the ranks on Altea, but on Earth, it's one's mind and cunning that will get them places. Lelouch, for example, is possibly one of the greatest minds I've ever seen."

"Oh yeah!" Rivalz said in agreement, "All those times I've seen Lelouch play chess, I've NEVER seen anyone beat him."

"Chess?" Coran asked the name sounded familiar, "does this happen to be a game as well?"

"It can be, but there's a lot of people on our planet that play it competitively too," Milly added.

"Hmmm… does it involve black and white pieces that only move in certain directions depending on the role they play?"

"Wait," Shirley said, voicing most of the paladins' shared shock "You know what chess is?!"

"Why it's only one of the most ancient games in Altean history!" Coran exclaimed excitedly, "Why I remember when I was a lad, my grandfather and I would go at it for varga on end! I do recall that your father attempted to get you into the game yourself Princess."

Princess Allura actually smiled, recalling her childhood. Chess had been one of her father's favorite games. She had never caught onto the game, but she remembered her father would use the game for strategies with the old paladins, calling out individual pieces to represent each of them and other forces they were working with.

"You seem quite versed in the game," Lelouch smirked as he sat up next to Rai.

Coran just grinned, "Ho-oh! Is that a challenge that I'm hearing?"

"Perhaps. Though what Rivalz speaks is true, I can count the number of people who have actually beaten me on the one hand."

"Righty-oh then!" Coran whooped, practically skipping out the door, "Let's see if I can't hunt down that board, and we'll play a round!"

"I'll look forward it," Lelouch chuckled almost deviously.

"What just happened?" Kallen asked, blinking.

"No idea," Suzaku admitted with a nervous laugh.

Shortly after, Coran did indeed find the chess board, covered in about a foot of dust, but still in one piece and all pieces intact. After setting it up, the Altean was practically shaking in excitement. Lelouch had smirked in amusement, Coran was undoubtedly one of the most enthusiastic opponents he'd ever played as everyone else gathered around to spectate the match.

The match itself had been quite eventful, Coran's attitude was competitive but cheerful throughout the entire game. Lelouch had to admit, despite his silly and overly eccentric demeanor, Coran proved to be quite the adversary on the board.

Ultimately though, Lelouch ended up destroying the Altean, losing only three pawns and a bishop overall. From the start of his signature move with the king, all the Paladins could tell that Lelouch had everything under control. Though secretly the prince believed the Altean may have been going a little easy on him.

Despite the defeat though, after the initial shock, Coran openly congratulated the Paladin on an 'outstanding' match and gave his wishes to play him again on a later date, which Lelouch cordially accepted.

"I do have a slight question though,"

"Oh? And what is that?"

"You started the game with the King piece. I assume you understand the risk that takes place by doing so."

"Heh, heh, true," Lelouch had admitted, "however, if a king doesn't lead, how do you expect his soldiers to follow?"

Coran's eyebrows raised in surprise, before twirling his mustache inquisitively. "I see. An interesting mindset you have Lelouch."

o~o

"Ahoy young paladins!" Coran said about an hour later. The Paladins gathered around the dining table. In front of them were plates loaded with food goo and even more in bowls along the table as well as small pink packages or what they assumed was… well... more food goo. "I've whipped up a big batch of focusing food. After this meal, you'll be forming Voltron six times a movement and twice on the astral conflux."

"Smells great Coran," Rai said on behalf of all of them, "Thanks!"

Before the Paladins could even dip their sporks in for a first bite though, Coran threw up his arm which was hiding a remote control. With a swift click of a button, the Paladins' arms were soon chained together from cuffs that appeared from the floor.

"Hold the phone!" Rivalz protested in shock. Similar expressions marred the faces of the other members.

"I saw a lot of solid individual performances today," Coran commentated, expression and tone suddenly serious, "but you're still struggling to work as a team. So, welcome to the final bonding exercise of the day."

"Coran," Milly said in a warning tone after she and a couple of others pulled on the cuffs to see if they'd budge. They didn't. "I highly advise thinking about what you're doing!"

Coran simply grinned, "Oh this one's a classic. You get to feed each other, like a pack of yalmors!"

Despite the supposedly optimistic attitude, only glares and groans of frustration emanated from the paladins. This was going to be a long meal.

o~o

A hulking device, illuminated by purple lighting, stood firm and tall. Wires interconnected it and a small floor port. It was not on as the vital source had not transferred yet.

The tyrannical emperor watched from the floor above. He trusted completely in the witch's creation. The Paladins were still young and inexperienced, and this would bring them to their knees.

The witch herself lifted her bony hand, and a capsule containing the muscular prisoner rose to the surface. It was grinning in malicious excitement. Finally, after all this time, it would have its revenge.

She thrust her hands out with a single grunt, her robes and hair billowing in an invisible wind.

The creature roared in agony before all was consumed in the light. The floor and wiring lighting up with life that transferred into the giant mech behind him. Lights sprang on as it opened it's 'eyes,' one yellow, one a slit white.

o~o

"Ah-augh!" Shirley gasped as her food goo went flying from her spork, her fist colliding with her face.

"Sorry!" Rivalz said sincerely. She groaned as reached down for another scoop, only her to accidentally bite the Blue Paladin's hand rather than the spork.

"Ew!" he flinched back involuntarily, causing the goo to fly in the other direction. This time he tried to move a little more with the Orange Paladin, only to pull Suzaku with him, the Purple Paladin's hand landing flat in his the green goop. "Oh nice Suzaku, you defiled my food goo!"

"It's your fault!" Suzaku protested, "You moved too suddenly!"

"Urgh!" Kallen growled, "This is ridiculous!"

"Do Earthlings ever stop complaining," Allura asked haughtily. She and C.C. had joined the Paladins at the dining table, and only the Princess's royal etiquette training had kept her from bursting into a long stream of suggestive exclamations as she attempted to eat her platter.

"On good days, not very often," C.C. said, poking and rolling her goo about her plate. She wasn't sure where these Alteans learned to cook, but would it have killed them to at least provide something that looked a little similar to pizza? She was ordering herself a lifetime supply once they got back to Earth, she didn't care if she ran Lelouch's wallet and bank account entirely into the ground.

"C.C. the sarcasm is not appreciated," Lelouch said, glaring at the immortal.

"Can't you just give us a break?" Milly queried, her tone highly annoyed, "Everyone's been working really hard today!"

"Yeah!" Rai jumped up, fed up with her attitude, "We're not some prisoners for you to toy with, like… like…" he was drawing a blank with his insult.

"A bunch of toy prisoners!"

"Yes! Thank you Rivalz!"

"Guys!" Suzaku protested, appalled at the others' behavior, "Look, I get that everyone's upset, but that gives you no right to disrespect the Princess."

"Ha! At least one of you has some manners; he's correct!" Coran reprimanded.

"Oh, the princess of what?" Kallen spat, her face almost going as red as her hair with rage, "We're the only ones out here, and she's no princess of ours!"

Kallen probably would've continued her rant had a giant blob of food goo not hit her smack in the face. The culprit being Princess Allura herself, her spork in front of her and her free hand moving away as if she'd just used it to flick something… which she totally did.

The room went completely silent, and still, Kallen still froze in place, trying to process what the heck just happened, even C.C. paused in between her bites.

'She really should not have done that!' Lelouch noted silently panicking. He'd seen Kallen when she was angry, and the Princess was walking on some thin ice right now!

It didn't seem possible for Kallen's face to get any redder, but she grits her teeth and practically snarled at the Altean, her eyes drilling holes into her head.

"Oh, it's on!" She screamed as she grabbed the closest thing she could catch, it being Rai's entire plate of goo, and the platinum blonde even assisted her with the momentum as they both flung it in her direction.

Allura gasped in shock, but just before it could hit her, Coran batted it away with his serving towel, and with a giant, graceful swoop of a ladle, sent a large glob right back at them. It collided head-on with each Paladin at the table.

C.C. wisely lowered herself to the ground and hid in the safety of the underground table.

'Okay, that's IT!' Lelouch roared in his head, before abruptly rising from his seat himself. He was livid; his patience had been strained far enough, "PALADINS! I COMMAND YOU TO ATTACK!"

"YES SIR!" they exclaimed in unison, as they grabbed their weapons (plates and utensils) and started hurling them at the Alteans. Even Suzaku, who usually attempted to be as cordial as possible with royalty had reached his limit, as his food fling hit their adversaries square in the face. Allura and Coran quickly returning fire of their own.

Armageddon quickly pursued. Bowls and plates overturned, green goo hit the walls and chairs, proving to be very futile shelters from the sharp aims from both sides, though the Paladins still found themselves much more exposed as they were still tied together.

By the time calm fell back on the group, nobody had escaped the wrath of the food goo. Plates scattered over the table and almost all the chairs overturned. The goo clung to their hair and armor, some of it still dripping and sliding down their faces. They would all definitely need showers after this.

The Paladins all blinked, they minds coming out of a haze of adrenaline. They all looked at each other, confused about what the heck just happened… before bursting into good-natured laughter. Sure, they were all still covered in food, but at this very moment, they didn't care. It was actually even fun!

"Enough!" Allura suddenly shouted, bringing the laughter to a halt. And here came the lecture. Not only had they started a food fight and made a massive mess of the dining hall, but their two hosts had been the targets of their uncontrolled ire. "Do you see what you're doing?!"

Here it comes…

Allura lifted her head, a wide grin on her face, "You're finally working together as one!"

They blinked. What happened to the- wait!

"Hey! She's right!" Rivalz realized with a grin of his own.

"I… actually don't hate you guys right now," Kallen admitted, smiling genuinely.

"Yeah! Totally!" Shirley nodded.

"Best bonding exercise ever!" Milly cheered, yanking her's and Lelouch's arm in the air.

"You all thinking what I'm thinking?" Suzaku asked triumphantly.

"Let's go form Voltron!" Lelouch proclaimed.

"YEAH!" Everyone was jumping in the air…. Before losing balance and falling on top of each other.

After taking some time to untangle themselves and wipe off the goo, the team confidently marched to their Lions.

One elevator, zip line, pod tunnel, and a second elevator later, all the Paladins were situated in their Lions.

"Is everyone ready?" Lelouch asked, gripping the Black Lion's controls, eyes lighting up.

"Roger that!" Rai answered.

"It's on!" Rivalz cheered.

"Yes, sir!" Kallen replied.

"I was born ready!" Shirley grinned.

"Up and at'em!" Milly quipped.

"Ready to proceed!" Suzaku said boldly.

"Then let's go!" Lelouch ordered. With a mighty roar that shook the room, the Black Lion flew up and out of the hanger.

"YEAH!"

Just like with their battle with Sendak, the same feeling of 'oneness' washed over the seven Paladins, as their lions converged with eager bellows, appendages retracting and sliding into place. Arms, legs, knees, and at last the head. Voltron's strong face shown once again as it flew across the sky and landed gently in the field, Allura, C.C., and Coran watching a safe distance away.

"I told you I could get them to do it." Allura said, "They just needed a common enemy."

"It's true. Like the old proverb says, 'A man can be driven to do anything, if a beautiful woman is just really, really mean to him."

C.C. burst into a series of giggles as a peeved Allura scowled at her advisor.

'Oh if only they knew how true that is!'

o~o

"Man, that was cool!" Rivalz exclaimed in the lounge later, "I'm so charged up, I don't know if I'm gonna be able to sleep tonight!"

"Not me," Kallen smirked, "When my head hits the pillow, I'm gonna be lights out."

"I just want you to know," Shirley said emotionally, sliding between Rivalz and Kallen, "that I realized when we were in Voltron, we're family!" she slung her arms tightly around the Blue and Red Paladins pulling them close, "You know? Like, we're totally connected. No secrets, no barriers, no nothing. A family all the way. I love you guys!"

"Indeed we are!" Milly proclaimed, "In this together. The romance of the three kingdoms: 'It matters not that we were born apart, but upon this day we die as one!'"

"Is that your idea of a love quote?" Rivalz asked.

"If one of us goes down, then we all do," Milly smirked mischievously.

"...That's a little dark there Milly," Rai said, "don't you think Suzaku?"

The Green Paladin gasped as he saw Suzaku's eyes slowly tear up, "I'm glad," he sniffled and wiped the tears that were falling, "that we can all be together, you know like this?"

Lelouch smiled at his friend, very similar feelings rising in him as well.

Rivalz then sprung up and practically tackled Suzaku to the floor, legs and arms wrapping around him, "Oh come on! We're supposed to be unwinding right now!" Everyone laughed at the engagement.

"But that's what's so refreshing about Suzaku though," Shirley said.

"Yeah, though once in a while you just want him to get a clue you know?" Milly answered hands on her hips.

"Oh sorry about that," the Purple Paladin answered, Rivalz squishing his cheeks playfully.

"Oh but you love it, don't you puddy tat!" Another round of laughter enveloped them; even Kallen was laughing at the silliness.

"G-forces messing with your heads a little bit?" Lelouch inquired with a grin.

"Maybe a little bit," Rivalz admitted as he and Suzaku untangled.

"Well I'm gonna head to bed," Kallen said, standing up and heading for the stairs, "see you all tomorrow."

"Yeah, I like the sound of that," Rai murmured, eyes suddenly starting to droop. Most of the team began heading for the exit when Shirley noticed Lelouch still sitting down.

"Aren't you going to bed Lulu?"

"In a minute," the Black Paladin replied with a small smile.

"Don't stay up too late Lulu," Milly scolded light-heartedly, "you don't have the excuse of late-night gambling here!"

Lelouch just laughed as everyone exited the room. As he found himself alone again though, he let out a tired sigh. He reached into his burgundy pocket and pulled out a small photograph that had been lounging in it since they'd let Earth. He'd only shown this picture to a few select people.

He was about eight or nine years of age in the photo, dressed in a majestic white suit and white cravat decorating his neck. He was standing next to a beautiful woman in a dark navy gown and a large white and blue headpiece sitting on a small bench overlooking a beautiful garden. The woman was holding a little girls hand, about six or seven years of age in a pale pink dress with puce trimming, her light brown hair tied in two high ponytails.

Two of the space mice that had been in the room with them came closer, squeaking in concern, the smallest, Chulatt, perching on his shoulder and the larger green one, Platt, on his thigh.

"If you plan to keep this charade going Lelouch," C.C. said, emerging from the shadows, still dressed in her straight-jacket she'd been wearing all day, "you'll have to tell them eventually."

He let out a long, tired sigh, "I know…"

o~o

A ship prepared for launch at Zarkon's main base. Not just any ship. This one carried a weapon that would bring Voltron to its knees.

"This beast will allow us to destroy the Paladins," the emperor himself sneered next to Haggar, "And then, Voltron will be ours."

With a whoosh of fire, the ship took off into the cosmos. The destination: Arus. Target: Voltron.

o~o

 **AN: I'M BACK! I'M BACK AND READY TO RUUUUMMMBBBBBLLLLEEE! Haha! Thank you so much to everyone that has patiently waited these last nineteen months, but I'm back and SO pumped to write this fic! NO, seriously! You have no idea how excited I am! With all the new Voltron material now, I'm going to be having a lot of fun with this!**

 **I especially want to thank Iron117Prime for helping me with some inspiration for this chapter! If you haven't read his story 'Code Prime - R1: Rebellion' I highly recommend it! It's an amazingly written story so far and definitely worth your time!**

 **A quick note about the Alteans knowing about chess, if you've read the first set of Voltron comics, the Sphinx in issue 4 (?) challenges Pidge to a chess match. So apparently this is an ancient game that's been around for eons... cool!**

 **And as for the casual clothes the Paladins wear when not in uniform:**

 **Lelouch and Suzaku are in their canon casual clothing. For Lelouch a burgundy jacket with a black shirt underneath and dark grey pants with black shoes. For Suzaku a long blue trench coat with a green shirt underneath, blue jeans, and sneakers.**

 **Milly and Shirley are wearing similar outfits that they wore in the Lake Kawaguchi episode. Milly's wearing a blue dress with a three-quarter length white jacket and light blue flats. Shirley is wearing a green tank top with white frilled straps and yellow shorts with brown sandals.**

 **Rivalz is wearing some beige pants with a white shirt and a green jacket, with sneakers.**

 **Rai is in a casual blue shirt with a grey jacket, black pants, and sneakers.**

 **Kallen is wearing brown shorts with a red turtle-neck, a brown jean jacket, and knee-high combat boots. And her hair is up in her headband, fanned-out.**

 **If any of you have any questions or concerns, feel free to PM me, I'm pretty good at replying within twenty-four hours! Again, thanks so much for putting up with such a long wait and I hope with chapter pays off! Love you guys!**

 **PS: I've been getting some questions about how the Paladins are rated by height, so I'll tell you now (this is all from the wikia except for Rai):**

 **Rai: 5'11" (1)**

 **Suzaku: 5'10" (2)**

 **Milly: 5'9" (3)**

 **Lelouch: 5'8" (4)**

 **Shirley: 5'7" (5)**

 **Kallen: 5'6" (6)**

 **Rivalz: 5'5" (7)**


	8. Chapter 8: Return of the Gladiator

Chapter 8: Return of the Gladiator

Dark purple energy surrounded the occupants of the chamber — four at each corner with one in the middle. The quintessence seeped slowly into his ancient form as Haggar approached.

"Sire, the beast is almost to Arus." the witch announced as the Galran Leader stood slowly to his feet.

"This Quintessence gives me so much power; I could fight the paladins myself." Zarkon sneered, clenching his fists.

"There is no need," Haggar smirked darkly, "My creature will destroy them and capture the Voltron lions for you. Then, the most powerful weapon in the universe will be ours."

O~o

"Great jobs training today, everyone! We're getting the hang of Voltron." Lelouch said as he and all the others but Rai entered the main dining hall.

"Seriously, how far do you think Rivalz and I kicked the broken alien ship?" Milly asked. cheerfully, "Must have been like a mile!"

"Yeah, that'll come in handy when the Galra challenges Voltron to a soccer match!" Kallen said, rolling her eyes. The training that morning had gone on reasonably smoothly. That is until Milly convinced Rivalz to help her kick some of the wreckage from Sendak's ship. The maneuver had overbalanced Voltron, and the giant knightmare had landed flat on its back.

"Oh come on Kallen!" Rivalz said exasperated, "You're just jealous that we did something cool and you can't handle it. We get it!" The Blue Paladin and the other student council members were still trying to get used to the new, war-hardened, moody Kallen Stadfeld. Not to say she wasn't moody before, but to compare her outbursts to each other, the old Kallen's was like a small firecracker, while this Kallen was a stick or two of dynamite!

"Your kick did kind of ruin our balance you two," Suzaku commented, taking his helmet off and setting it at the table, "we fell."

"I think that was partially my fault Suzaku," Shirley admitted from her seat at the table, embarrassed, "I reacted too slow."

"Everyone enough!" Lelouch said, pulling up a chair himself, "Save your energy for fighting Zarkon!"

"Hello, everyone!" Coran chirped as he strolled into the room, a large silver platter held proudly in his hands, "How was the Voltron workout?"

"We're getting there," Suzaku said, leaning back in his chair, Suzaku placing an arm over the top, "Are you and Allura almost done fixing the Castle so we can leave this planet?"

"Yeah, I feel like we're sitting ducks here on Arus," Kallen added.

"Just about," Coran confirmed, putting the platter on the table, "in the meantime to get your minds off those duck seats you're worried about, I made you guys an authentic ancient paladin lunch!"

At first, the Paladins were excited about an authentic meal, that is until Coran lifted the lid. What was underneath looked more like a green, gooey, bug-like creature rather than a meal? And that didn't even account for the smell.

"Coran," Shirley whined, "I just got used to that goo stuff, and now you're switching it up?!"

"This is packed with nutrients," Coran replied, still smiling proudly.

Rivalz leaned forward, taking a whiff, then gagging, "It smells disgusting!"

"I know!" Coran chirped, "That's how you know it's healthy!"

"Coran," Milly crooned, holding up some plants she managed to snitch on the way in, "We're on a planet now with fresh herbs, spices, and whatever this thing is. A tuber? Now if you'll excuse me," she grabbed Shirley's wrist, dragging her away, "Shirley and I are going to head back to the kitchen and spice things up."

Suzaku and Lelouch chuckled slightly, good old Madam President.

"Hey, where's Rai?" Suzaku asked, noticing the blonde was missing.

"He's probably checking on those prisoners we rescued from Zarkon. They'll all be waking soon in the infirmary." Coran said between bites of the… bug?

"Very well, then we join him," Lelouch said, standing up, Suzaku quick to follow after.

They didn't get far though as a fork was thrust into Lelouch's face, "Open the hatch. Food Lion is coming in!" Coran made airplane noises as the spork hovered in front of them.

Suzaku gulped down nausea as Lelouch scowled, "No, just… no!" Before Coran could make a second attempt, the two of them slipped out of the room.

"You don't know what you're missing!"

o~o

Rai breathed profoundly trying to slow his hammering heart. He twiddled his thumbs and swallowed to calm his churning stomach. These aliens, they were the only connection he had so far he had to find his mother and sister. The way those prisoners looked at him though, and what they called him: Champion. He wasn't sure if that was supposed to be a good thing or a bad thing. He sincerely hoped the former. He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he barely registered that the doors had opened.

"We're probably as anxious as you are," Suzaku said.

"These aliens that we saved know something about my family," Rai said, looking back at the fish-like one, "They have to!"

"We hope so too," Suzaku nodded sympathetically.

"They certainly seemed to recognize you," Lelouch said, "They called you 'Champion.' Any idea what that means?"

Rai bit his lip, his knees bouncing anxiously, "I don't know. I can't remember very much from that time. But the way those guys looked at me when we freed them... I don't know if I want to find out."

Further discussion of the topic was interrupted as one of the pods hissed, steam escaped from the device, freeing the fish-like alien from his frozen slumber. He let out a breath of icy air as he opened his eyes.

o~o

Bowls and plates full of colorful, delicious foods came sliding down the table, Milly adding the finishing garnish to the front one. Rivalz and Kallen's eyes widened and their mouths watered.

"Well?" Milly asked expectantly.

No further encouragement was needed as the Red, and Blue Paladins swiftly dug into the food. Mouths were bulging with the delicacies. C.C. had joined the group about a minute ago and tried some herself.

"Hmm… not pizza, but not bad either."

"They like the Paladin Lunch," Allura observed as she entered the room. Coran, however, stood pouting at her side, arms crossed. He was a little peeved at the Paladins' rejection of his food.

"I don't want to talk about it." he sniffed in disdain.

"I just got the final nebulon booster working," Allura said, "We should be able to leave Planet Arus tomorrow and take the fight to Zarkon."

Before anyone could reply, however, the room was illuminated in red light as the alarm sounded in the room. The Paladins leaped to their feet, suddenly alert. C.C. got up slower, slurping up the alien spaghetti hanging from her mouth.

Allura swiped her hand in the air, the computer beeping to life. A camera from outside the Castle appeared above them. On it was the front entrance, and leaping, apparently trying to be stealthy, from the small rocks in the way was a little figure with ram-like horns and small, child-like face. The camera zoomed in closer.

"What is that?" Kallen asked.

"I don't know what it is. Maybe it's a local Arusian," Allura deduced, "he's approaching the Castle."

The Arusian native upon closer inspection had brown horns, and appeared to be wearing small green pants, was bare-chested with a brown strap over it. Possibly for the small spear-knife, it was carrying as he screamed like a drunk rabbit, running from rock to rock, peeking over them.

"Oh!" Shirley gushed with a squeal, "He is so adorable!"

"He doesn't look too dangerous," Rivalz smirked confidently, hands on his hips.

"You never know," Kallen's eyes narrowed, her bayard flashing to life in her hand.

"No," Allura chastised, turning towards the door, "Alteans believe in peace first. Let's go welcome them."

"Maybe we can knit him a little sweater!" Milly said as Shirley continued to gush happily.

C.C. smirked in amusement as she followed closely behind.

Kallen's brow furrowed, "I'm not taking any chances." she muttered, bayard still tight in her grip as she ran after them.

o~o

The castle doors opened slowly, dust and sand picking from the tension. The Arusian yelped and dived behind another rock. It wasn't too hard to find the creature though as his heavy breathing away his position.

"Greetings," Allura said pleasantly, "We know you're there. No harm will come to you." The alien responded with a flip out, and weapon held out at the ready.

"Aw!" Shirley cooed, absolutely smitten at how cute the alien was. If all alien species were like this, she didn't mind one bit!

"Wait!" Kallen exclaimed, stepping in front of them protectively, holding her bayard up, though not activated, "He could be dangerous. Drop your weapon!"

"No one takes Klaizap's weapon!" the alien shot back, glaring at the Red Paladin.

"Kallen, put that away!" Allura scolded before turning back to the Arusian, "Please, kind sir, accept my most humble apologies."

The alien blinked in surprise before he lowered his weapon, standing tall and proud. "I am Klaizap, bravest of our warriors. Our village is over Gazrel Hill," he gestured to his right, "I come seeking answers as to why the Lion Goddess is angered with her followers."

"Followers?" Coran asked, confused.

"Lion Goddess?" Rivalz asked, just as perplexed.

Klaizap pointed to a small carving next to him. It was an image of a divine being in long flowing robes, holding two staffs. A large lion's head was in place on top, encircled with a sun. "The one the ancients spoke of."

Upon seeing the image, Allura smiled, "What makes you think she's angered?" Allura asked kindly.

"Destruction is everywhere!" he exclaimed, "In the past few suns, fire has rained from the heavens, and a giant has danced in the sky."

Rivalz leaned over to Milly and whispered loudly, "I think he's talking about Voltron."

C.C. smirked, "Well, you know any other giant robots around here?"

"I think we got that Rivalz," Milly replied a little dryly.

"You have not angered the Lion Goddess," Allura reassured the alien.

"How can you be certain?" he asked, still uneasy.

"Because I am Allura, this is my castle," the princess said, gesturing to her castle.

Klaizap looked between the Castle, all of the humans and alteans. He gasped.

"Lion Goddess!" he exclaimed, bowing before the princess in great reverence.

"Oh, well look at that!" Milly said, smirking slightly.

"Please, bravest warrior, take us to your village so that my friends and I may meet our neighbors," Allura instructed gently.

"Wait!" Kallen protested, "What about our mission to get off the planet and fight Zarkon?!"

"Part of the paladins' mission is to spread peace and diplomacy," Allura explained shortly, "Arus has been our host for 10,000 years. These people deserve our thanks."

o~o

"So, how long were you held captive by Zarkon?" Suzaku asked the fish alien as he carefully handed him a cup of tea. All of the aliens were out of the pods now, each wrapped in a blanket that they found in the infirmary right next door. Even before they started talking to them though, it was evident from the looks on their faces that they had been through unspeakable terror.

"Some for years," the alien answered, "Decades, maybe. It's hard to tell. Time becomes a blur."

"Were there any other humans imprisoned with you?" Lelouch asked, "Ones that were close to Rai when he was also a captive?"

"Yes, my mother and sister," Rai said anxiously, "their names were Erina and Sophronia."

"I never knew their names, but I certainly remember the other two earthlings that arrived with you, Champion."

The knot in Rai's stomach tightened. There was that title again, and the same haunted look in the alien's eyes as he looked at him. "'Champion.' Why do you keep calling me that?"

"Yeah, you called himself something else too," Suzaku said, "Zephyr or something?"

"You really don't remember? Unbelievable!" the alien gasped, "You were a legendary gladiator, undefeated in the ring. You defeated an infamous Galra gladiator known as Myzax. That was the day you earned the name 'Champion.' But 'Zephyr' was what you were called before that time by the other earthlings."

Lelouch blinked, then looked at Rai, "So 'Rai' isn't your real name… interesting."

"Anyway, what happened? When he defeated this Myzax guy?" asked Suzaku.

"I was there when it happened, as was the younger Earthling."

"Sophie?" Rai gasped. She was in the rings too?!

"We were all prisoners, forced to fight for the entertainment of Zarkon. That day, we were sent to fight Myzax, a vile beast many thought could never be defeated. Slaughter awaited us all. This 'Sophronia' was the first of us sent to fight. But fate had other plans." The alien paused the haunted look back. The three boys waited for him to gather his thoughts, "You were so thirsty for blood, you injured your fellow Earthling in a rage."

Lelouch's eyes widened as he heard Suzaku gasp. Lelouch's expression became murderous as he rounded on Rai.

"You attacked your SISTER?! WHY?!"

Rai's eyes widened in horror. "N-No!" he gasped, trembling, "Please! That can't be true! I-I would never hurt her!"

"I was there," the alien said, "we all were."

"After Sophronia was injured, where did they take her?" asked Suzaku calmly, assuming his military demeanor. The calmer you were, the more likely a straight answer would come.

"I know not." the alien looked down solemnly.

"No!" Rai exclaimed shaking his head, and beginning to hyperventilate, "Nononono! There-there's got to be more to the story! I-I couldn't have hurt my sister!"

Lelouch's brow furrowed in thought, "Well, that ship you were held on crash-landed on this planet. They should have prisoner longs in the database. Information."

"Okay," Rai nodded, calming down, "Let's go then!"

o~o

The Red, Blue, Yellow, and Orange Lions sat perched over the village in the distance. The Arusian community was… small, just like its people. The construction design looked similar to old huts on Earth. Quite the primitive species it would seem.

Allura, Coran, Rivalz, Kallen, Milly, and Shirley were all gathered in the town square with the rest of the village. Rivalz and Milly were passing out some cookies they made (or whatever the equivalent to cookies was for Alteans) while Shirley and Coran had scooped two of them into their arms and were hugging them tightly. Kallen and C.C. both stood awkwardly in the middle of everything.

"Rustic," the immortal commented.

"Oh Lion Goddess," the Arusian King proclaimed, "I, King of the Arusians, formally beg your forgiveness. Please have mercy on us and accept our traditional Dance of Apology as atonement for our wrongdoings."

The king clapped his hands twice, and a small pink Arusian scurried to the middle of the square, hands up in a pose.

"Commence Dance of Apology! Hoorah!" the king commanded. The other Arusians cheered around them as a group began to play a set of drums off to the side. The dancer started moving in a strange form. It certainly didn't look like any dance they'd ever seen. She was mostly waving her hands in odd directions.

"Please," Allura said politely, "there's no need for this."

"Moontow halt!" the king ordered as the Arusian paused in a pose again, this time on one leg, "The Goddess has refused the apology. Start the sacrificial fire," an Arusian lit a pile of logs upon an altar, and the other Arusians began screaming as the king turned to face it, "We must throw ourselves in."

Kallen was about to rush over and put the fire out herself when Allura quickly stopped them. "No! No sacrifices!"

The king turned back around in relief, whether it was to continue the ritual or not be burned to a crisp, "So, we may proceed with the dance?"

"That's a better alternative," Allura nodded. The king clapped his hands, and the music started again. The Arusian, Moontow, proceeded to finish the dance. Shirley then noticed that C.C. was giggling a little bit.

"What's so funny? Are you laughing that they were about to kill themselves?!"

The witch smirked, amused, "When you've lived as long as I have, you'd also have a morbid sense of humor, Shirley Fenette."

Shirley looked at her like she'd just grown a second head. 'Lelouch, WHERE in the WORLD did you find THIS chick?!'

It wasn't long until Moontow stopped and bowed to them, or Allura, the rest of the village following shortly.

"Oh my," Allura murmured, feeling a little overwhelmed, "Please, please, rise. Thank you for that, but I am not a great being worthy of your worship. I accidentally put you all in danger," the Arusians gasped in horror, "It is I who should be apologizing to you. I am Princess Allura, and these are the Voltron Paladins. Although we originally came from different worlds... and have very, very, very different traditions, we wish to live alongside you as friends."

"But the mighty robotic angel," the King protested, "has it not come to destroy us because of our immoral ways?"

Rivalz looked like he was about to say something, but was silenced by Milly who elbowed him in the ribs.

"Voltron?" Allura asked a little shocked, "No. In fact, that mighty robot is here to protect you. Let it be known that Voltron will protect every innocent being throughout the universe!"

The Arusians cheered and jumped for joy. Rivalz and Milly soon had Arusians climbing all over them. Coran was throwing and catching an Arusian in the air. C.C. and Shirley had sat down while a couple of the Arusian children began playing with their hair. Kallen tried to walk away from the crowd with an Arusian leaped up and hugged her around the middle.

"I-I don't usually hug strangers but…" Kallen blushed a little embarrassed as she awkwardly hugged back, "Man, you are cuddly."

"Thank you," the Arusian answered in a deep baritone voice. Kallen blinked. She wasn't expecting that to come from such a small creature.

o~o

The Galra ship in question had landed in a small lake, half of it already submerged. Suzaku lead Lelouch and Rai deep into the ruined structure through an opening in the top, bayard in sword form. They had no idea if anything survived the crash, so couldn't be too careful. The three leaped in, using their jet packs to slow their fall. Most of it had been destroyed.

Suzaku then noticed a computer looking device, "This looks like the master control board, but there's no power."

"All we need is power?" asked Lelouch.

"Yes, from the looks of it," Rai nodded, but something compatible with Galra tech…"

Lelouch hummed in thought, remembering the fight on this Galra ship as the prisoners were escaping… maybe.

Lelouch activated his Geass and tried to picture the same feeling from the battle as he placed his hand on the console. His hand suddenly lit up with red energy, the console blinking to life.

"What the-" Suzaku gasped, "Lelouch what are you doing?"

"I honestly don't know; I'd tell you if I did."

"Either way, I can't believe you got this thing to work!" Rai said in awe. He then tapped the armor on his forearm, a screen appearing in front of him, "My mom and Sophie's whereabouts must be logged in here somewhere. Once I download this information, I'll find some way to decode it back at the Castle." he pressed a few more buttons, and a downloading bar appeared in red as well as a coding sequence on the larger Galra screen.

Suzaku and Lelouch jumped as the sound of a sonic boom split the air. Looking up, the two gasped in horror as a giant fireball started plummeting towards the planet.

"What the-"

"Oh no!"

"What? What is it?" Rai asked eyes, barely moving from the screen.

"Something just entered the atmosphere," Suzaku said, "Not sure what it is but it's big, it's Galra, and it's coming right for us!"

"We need to go!" Lelouch said, about to remove his hand, only for Rai to grab it and slam it back down.

"Lelouch, don't move! I'm only fifteen percent done. I'm not going anywhere." he said stubbornly.

Lelouch hissed out through his teeth in frustration, Suzaku looking apprehensively between the UFO and them. It was coming closer, and faster from the looks of it. The download bar was barely fifty percent full.

"Rai I'm sorry!" Suzaku shouted, grabbing the Green Paladin and rocketing upward. Lelouch quickly followed after them.

"No!" Rai shouted in protest as he struggled against the Purple Paladin, but to no avail. For such a lanky guy, Suzaku was pretty intense!

"Team Voltron come in!" Lelouch shouted over the comlink, "We need back up!"

"Hello! Is anyone there?!" Suzaku also shouted.

The rest of the team was still with the Arusians when they heard them.

"Lelouch? Suzaku?" Allura asked, alarmed.

"Where is everyone?!" the Black Paladin asked. He sounded scared, which was an emotion he rarely showed around anyone.

"What's going on?" Kallen asked. The question was answered for them as a rumbling sound erupted in the distance. Turning around, the two women saw the fireball heading straight towards them.

"Oh no! We got to get to our Lions!" she shouted.

The Arusians started running for an underground shelter on the other side of the village, Allura, C.C., and Coran guiding and encouraging them.

"Everyone get inside and stay down!" Allura said, waving them onward.

"I'm on it!" Shirley said, running past her. Allura blinked in surprise as the Orange Paladin pasted her. Only for Milly to drag her back and away from safety.

"Not you Shirley Fenette!" she scolded as her fellow Paladin began silently crying at her botched escape attempt.

Back at the crash site, Rai continued to struggle in Suzaku's grip, protesting loudly. "No Suzaku, let me go! My mother!" He ceased though as he finally spotted the ship getting dangerously close.

"Run!" Lelouch cried as the trio dashed for safety, away from the wreckage. They barely got within a few yards when the ship crashed and destroyed the rest of the debris. Everything else around it was being blown away in a fiery shock wave that was heading towards them at a terrifying speed. They probably wouldn't have made it, had the Black, Green, and Purple Lions not jumped in between the trio and the blast.

The dust and debris were swept away with the wind as the landscape calmed for the moment. The three Lions stayed protectively hunched over their Paladins. Once it was deemed safe, they stood up to full size, rumbling in concern and relief.

"The Lions just saved us!" Suzaku exclaimed, astonished.

"I didn't know they could do that!" Rai said in equal awe.

A fascinated smile graced Lelouch's lips before catching a shape with of the corner of his eye, "I think the praise will have to wait you two, look!" he pointed at the wreckage.

As the dust cleared, a large, coffin-like black ship stood towering over them; it was even taller than the Black Lion. With a hiss, the structure's outer walls fell apart to reveal the passenger. A giant, monstrous robot blinked to life in front of them. Its eyes glowed ominously, one yellow, the other purple and slit. It zeroed in on the three Paladins.

"Get to your lions!" Lelouch ordered as they rushed to obey. As they ran, the monster's right arm raised in the air and began to spin like a drill, producing a giant ball of purple energy. They had barely settled in their seats ready for the incoming attack when the monster swung the ball directly at it. The three instantly jumped out of the way as the ball collided with the ground, leaving a crater.

But the robot wasn't done. With another swoop of its hand, it directed the ball towards the Green Lion's position. Rai barely got out of the way in time before it slammed into the rock formation. The ball then swung back around to its master, who then flung it at the Purple Lion hovering above. Suzaku fired his Lion's laser beam to destroy the ball, but there was little to no effect as the energy just was absorbed by the orb. Suzaku didn't have time to react as the ball hit him and Purple square in the chest. He cried out as they rolled to the ground, skidding across the landscape.

He groaned as he lifted his head, his eyes widening as the monster was charging towards him. It didn't get far though as the Alpha of the Pride, the Black Lion lunged at the robot, locking its jaws onto its shoulder. Despite the attempt to hang on though, the robot grabbed the Black Lion and threw it off of him.

Before the robot could attack again, a barrage of lasers bombarded it, forcing it to shield itself.

"Lay down some covering fire so they can get out of there!" Kallen shouted from the Red Lion.

"I'm on it!" Rivalz called out providing help.

"Got it!" Milly confirmed.

The Blue and Yellow Lion began firing beams from their tails as they aided the Red Lion in covering fire for the Black, Purple, and Green Lions. Soon Orange Lion was seen charging in as it ran across the earth torts the Beast.

"Take this!" Shirley shouted as she charged in from behind on the ground. "Battle Lion Head-butt!" She rammed into it, causing the robot to lose its balance and fall on its knees. This tactic was enough of a distraction for the Paladins to regroup quickly.

"Guys are you ok down there?" Kallen asked as she looked to her teammates from above, the Lions slowly backing away from the beast.

"Still alive for now," Suzaku said as they ascended into the sky with the others.

It didn't take long for the robot to get back on its feet though, glaring up at the complete pride now.

"Are the Galra behind this?" Shirley asked, grimacing nervously.

"Since when do the Galra have a giant robot too?" Rivalz exclaimed.

"They must be. Who else would it be?" Lelouch confirmed.

"I've never seen them make a weapon like this before," Rai stated, answering Lelouch's unvoiced question.

"So, uh, what's the plan? Shoot at it with everything we got? Take out its weapons? Call it names?" Rivalz asked, sounding just as scared as Shirley.

"If we want to take this monster down there is it one way to can do it," Lelouch said, the other Paladins braced themselves, as they prepared to call forth their mighty friend.

The lions then roared out as their eyes glowed, their bodies giving off the energy of their colors. They then flew in formation to the sky as they began to form up.

"Form Voltron!" Lelouch invoked as the colors clashed in the sky.

The Lions all roared in enthusiasm as they limbs and legs contracted and extended to form each part of the giant robot. The black head and body, the red and green arms, the purple and yellow shins, and blue and orange feet. Finally, Voltron's stern and battle-ready face appeared at the top, and the juggernaut was prepared for battle.

Voltron landed on the ground as it glared at the Ro-Beast, that glared right back at it.

"Remember, we are one unit, fighting with one goal!" Lelouch shouted as they prepared themselves for the fight.

The Ro-Beast's arm spun again generating another energy orb, readying for another round against them, as Voltron himself stepped forth with the orange lion digging in the ground as Voltron leaped forward.

The Robeast swung its arm sending the energy orb out towards Voltron in the air, but he expertly dodged it with a quick corkscrew.

Kallen screamed a battle cry and thrust forward the controls as the Red lion plunged ahead, locked into the robot's arm. They stood there in a stalemate before Rai cried out and flung the Green Lion towards the robot's head, knocking him back against the mountains. Team Voltron didn't give it too much time to recover as the warrior leaped into the air, intent on smashing the robot's head further into the earth of Arus. The Ro-beast was barely able to raise it's arm in time to block as they made contact, metal grinding against metal. In retaliation, the Ro-Beast called the energy ball back to him. Voltron noticed it too late and didn't have time to dodge out of the way before they were impacted from behind.

The Ro-Beast brought its arm down again, ready to hit them a second time, but the team recovered quickly and activated their thrusters, zipping out from underneath it just in time.

"I thought Voltron was the most powerful weapon in the universe!" Kallen screamed as they dodged another attack.

"Yeah, so how's this monster kicking our butts?!" Shirley shrieked in tandem. Keeping an eye the orb for another attack, they didn't notice that the Ro-Beast had run up behind them until they were punched upwards almost over the mountain, only within a couple of Voltron footsteps from the Arusian village.

"Oh no, the village!" Suzaku gasped.

"We have to protect those people!" Lelouch said breathlessly.

From within the village itself, Allura, Coran, C.C., and the other Arusians had taken shelter in a cave. Even from their hiding place, they could feel the tremors in the ground from the two robots fighting furiously.

The Ro-beast send another orb of energy at Voltron, hitting the Defender of the Universe in the face as it tried to block. They would've crushed the village had Milly, Suzaku, Shirley, and Rivalz not wrenched on their controls, thrusters allowing them to hover mere inches from the town below, before recovering and flying back towards the beast.

"That was way too close!" Milly said. This time they flew past the Ro-beast and behind it so that if they did get hit again, they would be propelled away from the village rather than towards it.

"We got it away from the Arusians, but we can't take him down!" Suzaku said.

Rivalz suddenly had an idea "I got it! I'm going to power kick that orb thing!"

"No way!" Kallen shouted, "the last time we did a kick, we fell!"

"Oh come on! Stop living in the past Kallen!" Rivalz fired back.

As Voltron turned back around and flew, the Robeast matched them and sent the orb at Voltron as he leaped into the air, Rivalz crying out he made Voltron aim a kick at the orb...barely missing by a few inches.

"Oh no!" The Blue Paladin cried as the orb, smacked Voltron clean in the chest, causing him to flip and land with a loud thud on the ground.

The Ro-beast charged at them at full speed as the Defender of the Universe struggled to his feet.

Lelouch grit his teeth from the inside of Black, "Rai, fire lasers now!"

"Got it! Fire!" the Green Paladin exclaimed, the arm raised to attack… only for the two wings on Voltron's back to spring forward, and magnetize themselves to the Green Lion's maw.

"Oh whoops!" he gasped, frantically hitting some buttons on his control panel to take the shield down.

"No Rai! I said lasers! Lasers!" Lelouch ordered just as desperately just as the Ro-beast made contact with the shield, sending them flying backward again, along with another hit from the energy ball, knocking them back further.

"Every time we focus on the orb, we're blindsided by the monster!" Suzaku said.

"Yeah, but every time we focus on the monster, the orb hits us!" Shirley added.

"Then what do we do?!" Rivalz asked, starting to sound a little panicked.

"ORB!" Milly screamed as the orb hit the robot again, slamming them into the side of the mountains.

"Lelouch we've got to move!" Kallen shouted through the comms.

Lelouch wasn't paying attention to Kallen though. Instead, his eyes were closed, and focusing on the Ro-beast. He noticed that the mace that the beast was holding was making a strange sound like it was charging up. And now that he thought back to all the continuous attacks from the monster, the orb attacks came in counts of three before regrouping with the wielder.

As Lelouch was making these observations, a light flashed before Rai's eyes. He was no longer in the Green Lion, facing a monster robot, but back in Galra captivity. In an arena. Fighting for his very life… against a monster that had a weapon almost identical to this one, making the same sound.

"That sound," he muttered, before his eyes widened in realization, "I recognize this monster, from my time in Zarkon's prison! I know how to beat him!"

"Watch the pattern of the orb's attacks correct?" Lelouch asked.

"Yes! That's right!" he nodded as Voltron quickly leaped back from the mountains just as 'Myzax's' attack hit where they had been laying only a second before.

"Everyone listen!" Lelouch shouted, "there's a loud sound when the orb returns to the base of the weapon. Can you hear it?"

The other Paladins quickly quieted down, straining their ears to hear. Lelouch was right; there was a loud drilling like sound coming from the weapon right now as the weapon itself was spinning around the orb.

"And every third time," Rai continued, "that orb needs to charge up. That's this monster's weakest point. We need to attack within that time frame!"

"Okay, so what do we do in the meantime?" Shirley asked, worry still prominent in her tone.

"Defense!" Suzaku answered for Lelouch, catching on to his and Rai's strategy, "Rai bring up that shield!"

"Way ahead of ya!" he shouted as the Green Lion brought the shield and landed it directly in front of them. And not a moment too soon as the orb crashed into it a second later. The sphere crashed into it, the Paladins grunting at the impact, and ricocheted off into the air.

"One. Two more to go!" Lelouch called out.

Myzax swung his arm around sending the orb arcing right back at Voltron, impacting the shield. It bounced off of them as they cried out. Even with the shield, the ball was doing a massive amount of damage.

"We can't take much more of this!" Milly shouted through gritted teeth.

Myzax swung his weapon again and sent the orb down at Voltron once again as Voltron stood ready.

"Last one! Everyone brace for impact!" Lelouch ordered. The orb struck the shield, this time shattering it and knocking them off their feet once more. But just as Lelouch and Rai predicted, the globe returned to the base of the weapon, the drilling sound emanating as it charged back up.

Seeing their chance, Lelouch didn't waste another second. "NOW!"

Kallen swung her hand back on the controls and thrust it forward as hard as she could. The Red Lion's head shot forward, a blue laser beam erupting from its mouth. The attack hit Myzax square in the chest, sending him tumbling backward in an explosion of fire and smoke. As it cleared though, Myzax quickly got to his feet, preparing his next attack, weapon now fully charged.

"It didn't work!" Milly cried, shocked that the attack didn't seem even to dent it.

"So now what?!" Rivalz said as Voltron took another hit to the chest, shield still torn in two on either side.

As Voltron tumbled backward, Rai's mind flashed back to his arena fight again; he plunged back from an impact form the orb. He rose up slowly, panting from exhaustion, holding the sword tightly in his hands.

Wait… a SWORD!

"When I attacked him before I had a sword with me!" Rai exclaimed.

"ORB! ORB!" Shirley shrieked as the orb crashed into them again, this time Voltron blocking it with the Red and Green Lion's arms.

"We can't take another shot like that!" Kallen yelled. Voltron had taken too much damage. If another attack hit them, they probably wouldn't survive, much less win!

Suzaku groaned as he struggled to sit up straight again. Suddenly, a wave of what seemed like electricity raced through his being. He gasped as the Purple Lion's purr practically vibrated the cockpit and small panel to the right rose up from the control board.

"Wait a second guys! I think my lion's telling me what to do!" he informed them as the information was practically downloaded into his brain from the lion.

"Whatever it is hurry up and do!" Rivalz said, "He's about to fire his third shot!"

The Paladins all gasped as Myzax swung his arm around again, firing the orb at them once again. Having escaped from the ditch they were trapped in, Voltron lifted his arms in defense just as the sphere impacted them, causing them to fly backward and roll, tumbling several feet before stopping.

Suzaku grunted, regaining a sense of his surroundings as he looked at the foreign port again as Myzax charged at top speed and jumped into the air, intending to crush them into the ground with the orb still attack to the weapon.

With a battle cry, Suzaku ripped his bayard out of its magic pocket and jammed it into the port, cranking it to the right.

Suddenly, Voltron slammed his hands together, a bright flash of blue light illuminating their surroundings, then pulling apart with a thick strand of blue energy. And he swung right into Myzax. It was so fast that he didn't have any time to react. The sword, positioned sturdily in the Red Lion's jaws slashed like butter through the Ro-beast, Voltron landing on his other side with one leg crouched down, sword outward.

Myzax, in a spark of static energy, collapsed to his knees, before exploding in a fiery inferno. Voltron swung his sword twice more before proudly holding it at his side in victory. The Paladins all cheered in relief. They did it! The monster was defeated.

"How did you do that Suzaku?" Milly asked enthusiastically.

Suzaku, being the only one that wasn't cheering, sat stunned still in his seat for about another two seconds before finally reacting, pulling his bayard free from the port.

"Whoa, heheh, thanks Purple," he smiled graciously.

Meanwhile, in the distance where the original crash site was, the camera that was attached to the shuttle caught sight of the column of smoke over the mountains.

o~o

"NO!" Haggar shrieked as she saw what happened through her link with the camera. She then a calm, deathly tone said, "I'll make another, more powerful."

"That won't be necessary," Zarkon said resolutely, "Sendak is still alive on Arus," Zarkon began as he looked away a bit, "I've given him instructions for how to proceed."

"Can he be trusted?" Haggar asked as she knew that Sendak was loyal, but you never knew if it was a rouse for something else.

"I trained him, and he has his mission. He fights in the name of Galra. Only success or death will stop him."

o~o

"Zarkon has challenged us to rise from the mud and prove our worth," Sendak informed the one surviving Galran with him, Haxus, "We will not let him down."

"Sir, how are we going to take the Castle with just the two of us and five damaged sentries?" Haxus asked.

"By exploiting our enemy's weaknesses."

"What weaknesses?" Haxus asked, still unsure of the situation.

"The worst weakness of all: they value the lives of others," Sendak said, looking down at the Arusian village, as the populace happily went about their day, none the wiser on what was beyond the horizon.

o~o

The Paladins, minus Lelouch, Suzaku, and Rai were gathered in the hanger as the former prisoners of Zarkon were loading up in one of the Altean pods.

"Good luck out there," Rivalz said with a small wave.

"Thank you all for everything. We never dreamed we see our families again," The fish-like alien said, bowing slightly in respect, "But you gave us hope. You gave the universe hope."

A few minutes later, the pod was flying into the sky, away from the Castle and planet Arus, escorting its precious cargo home.

Meanwhile, outside the Castle, Rai was sitting on the bridge overlooking the ocean. Two of the mice were seated on his lap, the large green one and thin blue one.

"Hey Rai, there you are!" Suzaku said, running over to join him. He sat next to the Green Paladin, placing a hand on his shoulder, trying his best to show support and cheer him up, "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," Rai nodded, "just thinking about stuff."

"Like what?"

"About the fight… I remember why I attacked Sophie."

"Your sister?"

"Yeah, the memory of what happened came back when we were fighting the monster. Mum was being sent off with the weaker prisoners to a work camp. Meanwhile, Sophie and I were forced to fight in the Gladiator Arena. She was going to fight first, but she was scared. We all were."

(Flashback)

Sophronia trembled as sentry lowered the shield, extending the sword towards her delicate hands. Sobbing she ran into her brother's arms.

"I don't want to go out there!" she sobbed into his arms, "Please, big brother, don't let them take me!"

"It's going to be okay Sophie," Rai said in an equally terrified tone. He knew that whoever went out there was going to die. He knew for SURE that if Sophronia did, she would die in minutes. He glanced between her and the sword the sentry held. He made a decision and acted before he could change his mind.

With a wild roar, he threw his sister behind him, and charged the sentry, ripping the sword from its arms. With an animalistic snarl, he turned back to her and the other aliens.

"THIS IS MY FIGHT!" he snarled, swinging the sword down on Sophie's leg, leaving a large gash as she fell to the floor with a shriek of pain. She held her leg as tears streamed down her face. He growled as he landed on top of her, "I WANT BLOOD!"

His resolve almost wavered as he looked into his sister's face, terror and betrayal plain as day on her face. His face quickly softened as he whispered, "Take care of mum," before they dragged him away, one of the aliens kneeling to examine her wound before the gate closed.

o~o

"...that was the last time I saw her," he whispered.

"You saved her," Suzaku said, eyes wide, "you attacked her so they'd choose you instead,"

"Yeah…" Rais said, but tears slowly rolled down his face, "...but the look she gave me when dragged me in… I don't know if that's her last memory of me or not…"

Suzaku suddenly pulled Rai into a hug, "We're going to find her. Her and your mom. I promise."

Rai stilled for a moment before returning it, sniffling, "Thank you…"

In the distance, Lelouch observed the two, having heard the entire conversation. Now that he knew the reasons, he understood why Rai acted the way he did, as he probably would've done the same thing if that had been him and Nunnally.

Speaking of Nunnally… Lelouch looked at the ground, guilt rising in his chest. Though it wasn't entirely his fault, he'd still left Nunnally alone on Earth, no note, no clue to where he was. It had already been about a week since there blast off from Earth. He did not doubt that by now missing person reports were being made for the other student council members. Once their faces hit the media, he had little to no doubt that their cover would be blown sky high. And if his face was one of them, and someone in the military or royal family saw it, recognized his face, and made the connection.

Not to mention the Black Knights. Without him as Zero, and even Kallen, there to assist them, how long would it be before the group did something stupid and got themselves caught by either Cornelia or the police?

He clenched his fists, gritting his teeth. This was slowly turning into a nightmare.

"So," C.C. said, walking up next to him, the small blue mouse and pink mouse mounted on her shoulders, "What's the great Prince Lelouch vi Britannia going to do now?"

"Don't call me that C.C." he almost snarled, "You know I no longer answer to that name!"

C.C. shrugged, "Still, you should answer my question."

"...Britannia still needs to be stopped," Lelouch said, "if the Galra are as close to Earth as Allura says, that goal is paramount now."

"But Lelouch, if you defeat Britannia and leave it in shambles, how do you expect for them to defend themselves against an alien invasion."

"Once the Emperor is gone, and someone with better ideals takes the throne, we can make preparations for that. But that won't happen as long as the Earth remains divided."

"Are you planning to return? Alone?"

"If I have to," Lelouch nodded, "there have to be others. Perhaps even the Princess can fill my place as Paladin."

"When do we leave?" C.C. smirked.

"...Tomorrow night."

o~o

"Hey Ohgi, still no word from Zero or Kallen?" Tamaki asked from the upper floor of the Black Knight's hideout.

"No, nothing," he shook his head in frustration. The Black Knights had not had contact with Zero for over a week, which wasn't unusual as none of them knew where their masked leader disappeared to on days they weren't doing operations. What really worried him was that Kallen had vanished into thin air as well.

"Oh come on! We usually hear from him by now don't we?" Tamaki complained with an exaggerated groan.

Sugiyama was flipping through the channels on the television, seeing if any news stories would warrant their attention. He was about to press the up button again when the screen glitched out. The face of the Britannian news station suddenly appeared on the screen.

"We interrupt this program to bring urgent breaking news," the news anchor said, "Seven students, all registered at Ashford Academy Private School, have been reported missing today,"

As soon as 'Ashford Academy' hit Ohgi's ears, he sprang to his feet, he and the rest of the Black Knights quickly gathering around the screen. That was the school Kallen was attending.

"Don't tell me…" Minami muttered in fear.

Seven student photos appeared on the screen a moment later, each with their names written at the bottom in alphabetical order: Milly Ashford, Rivalz Cardemonde, Shirley Fenette, Suzaku Kururugi, Lelouch Lamperouge, Rai, and Kallen Stadtfeld.

"No…" Ohgi muttered in horror as Kallen's face appeared at the bottom of the list.

o~o

"The group of students was last seen around the Lake Kawaguchi area."

"Sayako?" Nunnally asked, fear in her voice. The Japanese maid only stared at the news report in horror.

o~o

"Records show the students boarded a train to the area, and witnesses have stated they spotted the students by the lake about a week prior."

"It can't be..." Viceroy Cornelia li Britannia muttered as she and sub-Viceroy Euphemia li Britannia locked eyes with the fifth name on the screen.

o~o

"Authorities urge all citizens and numbers that if they have any additional information to contact them immediately."

"Prince Lelouch!" Jeremiah Gottwald exclaimed, springing from his seat at the bar, Villeta Nu staring in disbelief at his side.

o~o

"Charles," a female voice called out from behind him.

"Yes, Marianne, I know."

"It seems there are more unusual circumstances than we thought. I still have been unable to contact C.C."

"She remains with our son, that much is certain. We find Lelouch,, and we find C.C. This is of the utmost importance. Summon the soldiers. They will find them and drag C.C. back here where she belongs."

"Right away,"

o~o

 **AN: FINALLY! FINALLY DONE! I'm so sorry this took so long, but the school semester is coming to a close and professors think that's the perfect time to drop a ton of homework on your lap, projects and exams included.**

 **So Voltron has just faced their first monster on Arus, and have officially been declared missing back on Earth... Uh oh...**

 **So just a couple things to address. The Purple Lion is bringing out the sword. I don't know if you noticed, but Voltron seems to form the weapon based on the Paladins' bayards. So when Keith changed to the Black Lion, his bayard still formed a sword like it did when he was in the Red Lion. Just pointing that out in case there was any confusion there.**

 **Two other small announcements:**

 **1\. THIS STORY HAS TVTROPE! Our wonderful nphillips0115 has started one up, and it looks pretty good so far! Please do look at and update it when you can!**

 **2\. I posted a small poll on my account page, so if you'd be so kind as to answer it, that would be fantastic too!**

 **So once again, if you have any questions, feel free to PM me and leave a review. But make sure it's related to the fic itself! Thank you!**


	9. Chapter 9: Fall of the Castle of Lions

Chapter 9: The Fall of the Castle of Lions

"The monster fell from the sky! It was an epic battle, but Voltron was victorious!" The Arusian King exclaimed from the stairs. Three Arusians were on top of each other, and seven others were standing on each other with a sword and shield, reenacting the battle that Voltron had fought just the previous day. Allura had announced that they would be leaving the planet tomorrow, but as thanks, had invited the Arusian village to the Castle for a farewell feast and party.

The three Arusians threw a ball at the seven, and they ended up collapsing underneath. "...No! I said _Voltron_ was victorious!" The seven Arusians quickly leaped back to their feet as the three collapsed in defeat. The rest of the Arusians cheered and raised their drinking goblets as the Princess watched in amusement.

"Thank you your majesty for that…" she raised an eyebrow and grimaced slightly, "...wonderful production," she gave the most innocent smile she could, "It saddens me that we must leave tomorrow, but we must continue our battle with Zarkon and spread peace throughout the universe," She then turned to the King himself, her hands clasped, "Your Highness… Please accept this gift," she opened her hands to reveal an Altean communicator. The king took the device apprehensively, "This will allow you to contact us anytime you need help," The king smiled in gratitude, "Arus will be the first planet in the Voltron Alliance."

"Hoorah!" the King exclaimed, holding the communicator in the air as his subjects cheered again.

Milly, Rivalz, and Shirley were in a little group in the crowd, holding small cups of their own.

"You know, we should get something like that," Shirley said.

"Like what?" Rivalz asked, confused.

"You know, like a cheer. Like, a team cheer that we do." the Orange Paladin clarified.

"Oh! I like where you're going with that Shirley!" Milly giggled, "Hmmm… how about: I say 'Vol' and you say 'Tron.' Vol-"

"-Tron!" the two exclaimed.

"Vol-"

"-Tron!"

"YES! It's perfect! Now we just need the others in on it!" Milly winked before sipping her drink-before immediately spitting it back into her cup, a full body shiver followed. She zipped over to Coran, a peeved look on her face, "Coran, what is this?!"

"Oh this is Nunvill, the nectar of the Gods," the advisor smiled after sipping his glass.

Milly stuck out her tongue, disgusted, "It tastes more like hotdog water and feet!"

Missing the disgust in her tone, Coran smiled, "Yeah, makes a wonderful hair tonic as well." He stuck his hand in the glass before sprinkling some onto his mustache, causing it to fluff up, before sliding gracefully away. Despite trying to maintain manners, this only caused the Ashford President to gag again.

Kallen was leaning against the wall, afar off from the crowd, scowling. She never was much of a party person, to begin with, but her mind was on other things as well. It had now been officially four to five days since they all went missing. She'd be shocked if the news hadn't caught wind of their disappearances by now. She knew her step-mom knew she snuck out of the house now and then, but the longest she'd ever stayed away was about thirty-six hours. She was probably one of the first to contact authorities. Not because she loved Kallen, but to save her name and reputation.

Not to mention the Black Knights and Zero. She was their most potent knightmare pilot. With her gone, they would have to find a way to compensate for their loss. And it wouldn't be very good on their end. Plus, she shivered, Ohgi was probably worried sick about her as well. Just like-

Kallen sighed and stared up at the ceiling. She hated to admit it, but she missed her mom. Her _real_ mom, who was working and enduring ridicule in the Stadtfeld home just to stay by her. Why couldn't that woman just move on and get a life already?

"I'm sorry guys…" she whispered, continuing to brood in the corner.

Meanwhile, Shirley and Rivalz were attempting to assist Milly who was still having problems with the Nunvill drink. Rivalz poked her, where she fell, rather comedically on her side.

Rai and Suzaku were also standing apart from the crowd. But for entirely different reasons than Kallen. They were tense as if waiting for a whole army of Galra to come barging in through the wide-open gates.

"Not feeling well?" Coran asked them as he approached the two, "Try some Nunvill. Settles the stomach and brightens your smile."

"Coran, I don't think it's a good idea to be letting everyone wander in and out of the Castle like this. It doesn't seem safe." Suzaku admitted.

"Oh, these Arusian won't hurt anything-"

Coran was interrupted as two Arusians came floating by, hanging from a hovering plate of drinks.

"-Much." he cringed as the platter collided with another one, "Besides, it's only fair to let them see the inside of a Castle that's been sitting on their planet for so long."

"Okay, but who knows when Zarkon will attack again?" Rai asked pointedly.

Suzaku pushed himself away from the wall, "I'm gonna do a perimeter check. Just in case. Coming Rai?"

"Sure!" the Green Paladin said, following close behind.

o~o

Meanwhile, far across the way from the Castle, two adversaries laid in wait for the perfect opportunity to strike.

"Commander Sendak, the Sentries, are in position around the Arusian village," Haxus said.

Sendak grinned. He was eager to gain revenge on the Paladins and kill the Princess personally. Emperor Zarkon would reward him generously for doing so. He zoomed in to get a better look at the castle with his unique Galra eye.

"Luck is on our side. Look, the Castle defenses are down. The door is wide open. With all these Arusians coming in and out, it should be nothing for you to infiltrate."

Haxus looked through his binoculars and spotted Rai walking around with Rover, the drone that he had reprogramed. "I may not have to. Look. The green one has a Galra drone they've repurposed. If I can just get close enough to clone its signature code, I can send our bomb drone in undetected."

Sendak grinned sinisterly, "I knew you would not disappoint me, Haxus."

Haxus got up from his crouch next to him and left to find a spot closer to the entrance, to fulfill the plan.

o~o

As everyone was having fun and socializing, Lelouch finally emerged and was out carrying around a small backpack, discreetly stocking it with some of the food from the party.

Up above, Allura gazed down at the paladins with a smile, with the light blue mouse, Plachu, perched on her shoulder, "Look at them, the new Paladins of Voltron. The fate of the universe is on their shoulders."

She watched as Shirley took a drink of Nunvill, her eyes widened impossibly before she spewed it out in Rivalz's face, his head ducked down as if to cover his eyes.

"Ow! My eyes!" Rivalz exclaimed with a cackle as he had put two of the stick snacks into his sockets. The two, along with Milly and the Arusians surrounding them, threw back their heads laughing.

Allura cocked an eyebrow at the display. Not exactly the most proper paladin behavior, but she saw that they weren't necessarily causing trouble, and allowed it to slide. "... I must portray strength so no one can tell how concerned I am about the fate of our mission."

Plachu chittered close to her ear as he perched on her shoulder. Allura's eyes widened before she blushed and smiled sheepishly, "Let's... keep that a secret."

He chittered again quietly. Allura's face became intrigued. "Who else has secrets?"

Plachu leaped down and joined his siblings on the ramp. He then too Platt's cheeks and squished them upwards like he was trying to eat something he probably should've ate in smaller bites.

"Rivalz tried to eat what?" Allura laughed, "That is rather amusing. What other secrets?"

The tiny mouse, Chulatt, hopped onto Plachu's head and styled his hair to look curly like Milly's. He then grabbed his tail and with a devious smirked, spun it around like a lasso.

Allura frowned slightly, "That sounds like Milly,"

Chulatt then dropped down back to the ramp, and standing in front of Chuchule, the pink mouse, offered his paw out to her. Chuchule placed it there, and Chulatt lightly kissed it, as Chuchule batted her eyes and gave a flattering squeak.

"Lelouch is a _what_?!" Allura reeled back in shock. She quickly zeroed in on the Black Paladin who was in the process of casually dumping another plate of snacks into his backpack. He suddenly frowned and looked around. He spotted a stray wooden pick in one of the snacks that an Arusian was carrying. He even proceeded to dig it between two of his canines before pulling it out. He frowned before tossing it behind him, apparently satisfied.

Allura scowled skeptically, as she doubted even by Earth standards that that was how royalty acted. "Hmmm...Are you sure?" she asked. The mice squeaked in confirmation, "I'm getting to the bottom of this."

Meanwhile, back down below, Rivalz stared skeptically at the Nunvill still in his cup. "I guess we should get used to this space juice. Who knows when we'll get back home again?"

"Yeah…" Milly frowned, swirling her cup, "if ever…"

"It's our new life," Kallen suddenly snapped next to them, "get used to it!"

"What do you mean Kallen?" Shirley asked.

"Well think about it, if this Zarkon character has been ruling for 10,000 years, how long do you think it will take for us to fix it? You know, if we live through it?"

"You're right…" Shirley frowned, picking up a bowl of food as a tray floated past.

Kallen rolled her eyes and sighed again. 'Seriously?! Can they not understand that?!' she ranted as she slinked back into the crowd.

"You know… ever since we got here, Kallen's been acting like a completely different person." Shirley said.

"Yeah," Rivalz nodded, "what happened to the sick, frail Kallen Stadtfeld we know? It's like she's never _been_ sick! Not to say that's bad! If anything I think it's a big improvement. She's a lot more attractive now."

"True, definitely love the spikes she's added to her locks," Milly commented.

"Kallen has a point though…" Shirley murmured, "it could take forever for us to fight Zarkon. And who knows what will happen. Some of us might not come back!"

"Yeah. Right." Rivalz nodded solemnly.

"But hey! What do you think the chances are of us landing on another glitter planet?" Milly asked, trying to change the subject to cheer them up, "Oh! Or a planet made up completely out of nachos? That would be one for the journals!"

"Well, there's only one planet with beautiful beaches, pizza shack looking over the water, and the garlic knots and... my mom's hugs…" Rivalz eyes started flooding with tears, before ducking his head, "I'm sorry. I think this Nunvill is getting to me. I gotta go."

Milly and Shirley looked after him in concern. Coran also watched him go up the stairs with a concerned frown, the conversation he was having with two Arusians briefly forgotten.

As Rivalz was hurrying up the stairs, Allura passed him coming down, making a beeline for Lelouch, his backpack still flung over his shoulder.

"So, Lelouch," Allura started, trying to sound casual, "we haven't had a chance to really... talk. Tell me about yourself."

Lelouch blinked in confusion for a moment, wondering why the sudden interest, but he sighed and relented, thinking a couple of facts should satisfy her, "Hmmm… well, my favorite color is indigo, I prefer turkey over ham sandwiches, and my favorite tea is jasmine, with a small dollop of honey in it. I also like peanut butter and peanut butter cookies. But I refuse to eat peanuts on their own. They're far too dry and salty."

Lelouch tried to escape from the princess after that, figuring that was enough, Allura blocked his path, "I-I suppose I was thinking of something a little more _personal_?" She asked with a knowing wink. That sounded suspicious to him, "We do have a _lot_ in common."

Lelouch's eyes widened. Then they narrowed as his Geass activated, " _What do you mean_?" he demanded as the sigil flew into Allura's eyes.

The princess's eyes glowed with a red ring around the iris as her face went slack, "I mean that fact that we are both prince and princess of royalty." she replied monotonously.

Lelouch gasped, before he grits his teeth in anger, "How'd you find out about that?!"

"The mice told me. They overheard a conversation with you and C.C. about it."

Lelouch sighed. That was his fault then. The fact that the mice shared a mental link with the princess completely slipped his memory. Satisfied that he had the information, he broke the command off.

Allura blinked before she refocused on Lelouch, and then noticed his strangely aggravated face. She quickly backtracked, "I'm sorry! I overstepped my bounds. I just want you to know that you can confide in me. If there's _anything_ , you _ever_ want to talk about..." She leaned in uncomfortably close to Lelouch's face, " _Anything…_ "

Though a little irritated, he might as well say it now, since she was technically asking. "Fine, I do have something to tell you."

"I had a feeling~" Allura sang with a giddy smile, "What is it?"

"I'm going back to Earth."

Allura took a breath like she was about to speak something else entirely different, then her mouth turned into a confused frown, "Wait, what?!"

"You heard correctly; I'm going back to Earth. With C.C. Tonight," he informed with a tone of finality.

"Lelouch, you can't. You're one of seven Paladins," her hands landed on Lelouch's shoulders, "You have a sacred trust to defend the universe."

"Well I regret to tell you Princess, but I have previous engagements and priorities back home!" Lelouch exclaimed, back away defensively, "Tell me, did you have any other family besides your parents? A brother or sister perhaps?"

"Well- no but-!" Allura protested.

"Well, I do!" Lelouch said, "My mother is dead, and my father abandoned my sister and I. She's blind and crippled. She can't move unless she uses a wheelchair! She needs help with almost everything! Don't you get it?! If I'm not there for her, who will be?! And I'll die first before I let my _father_ get his filthy hands on her again!"

Allura stood in frozen shock. She had never seen Lelouch this emotional about something. Where was the calm, stoic, Black Paladin she was familiar with?

He drew in a sharp breath, eyes glossy with tears, "I'm sorry. But I should inform the others about this."

o~o

Outside, Rai and Suzaku stood guard at the entrance, squinting out into the darkness. Rover was hovering closer to them, assisting in patrol.

"Rai, Suzaku?" Lelouch asked as he came up behind them.

"What's up Lelouch?" Suzaku asked.

"I need to talk to you about something."

Off to the side, however, no one noticed the galra Haxus hiding in the rock outcroppings. He leaned out and pointed a device at the drone and trio. It quickly scanned them as the three started walking back to the Castle. It got full encryption of the drones codes which he promptly prepared a copy of it.

"Signature code cloned," he muttered. He quickly pulled back behind the rocks when Rai looked over in his directions with narrowed eyes. The two then followed Lelouch back into the castle. He pulled out a drone of his own and scanned the code into it. Its glow went from red to bright blue, perfectly copying Rover. "Bomb activated."

The fake Rover started hovering towards the entrance, following the trio from a short distance as Haxus leaped over the rocks and retreated to Sendak's position. Now all they needed to do was wait.

o~o

Rivalz sat sulking in the castle's bridge. His head was rested on one of his fists as thoughts rolled through his head. He missed his mom, dad, sisters, uncle, and baby cousin. What Kallen said struck closer to home than he anticipated, because she was right! This was war! People died, and who was to say that he wouldn't be one of them?

"Mind if I join you?" Coran asked gently as he hopped down from the platform Rivalz was sitting against.

"How far away from Earth do you think we are, Coran?" Rivalz asked. Maybe if he saw the distance, and that it wasn't far at all, it could reassure him.

"Let's take a look," Coran went up to the central control and brought up the holographic map, the planets and stars surrounding them.

"Earth is over here," Coran said, pointing to the space that they marked for the paladins, " And we're aaaaaaall... the waaaaay... oveeeeer..." the kept swiping his hand over the map, it seemed to take forever. And it didn't help Rivalz's sudden homesickness at all.

"You ever notice how far the planets are from each other, Coran?" he asked forlornly.

"Yes," Coran replied, still swiping, "haven't you been paying attention?"

"Yeah," Rivalz walked up next to him, "but I mean, like, they're really, really far away. Like, say, Earth? It's so far; I can't even see it. The... The blue oceans, the white clouds, green grass... I c—-I-I... I can't see any of it." he confessed, looking down with a depressed gaze.

Coran gazed at the Blue Paladin with sympathy, "You miss Earth. I understand. I miss Altea."

"I know we're supposed to be brave Paladins and Defenders of the Universe or whatever, but, honestly? I just want to go home." Rivalz complained as he looked down, depressed stare still prominent.

"If I could go home, I would," Coran confessed, looking down and sad as well now.

"I miss the rain," Rivalz said randomly, "and splashing in puddles."

"Rain?" Coran asked, intrigued.

"Yeah. It's water that falls from the sky?" Rivalz provided, looking up at their Milky Way Galaxy.

"Oh, we had that on Altea. Only, it wasn't water, more like rocks. Razor-sharp and boiling-hot. Oh, they could knock a hole right in your head."

"Sounds fun," Rivalz said unenthusiastically.

"Yeah."

o~o

The Galra drone that was rigged continued to fly down the hall completely undetected. It scanned each place as it went, looking for a convenient place to go off. Its destination was the bridge, where the primary power source of the Castle was. Once that was taken out, the Castle would be completely defenseless.

o~o

"Lelouch no!" Suzaku exclaimed. He, Rai, Allura and the other paladins, except Rivalz, were gathered in one of the halls. Lelouch had just broken to them the news of his departure.

"Nunnally needs me Suzaku," Lelouch said, "and I have other things I need to do on Earth. And besides, with the way things are right now, should the Galra attack, no one would stand a chance, not even Britannia."

"Lelouch you can't just leave!" Milly argued putting her hands on her hips.

"We're not in school Milly, so you can't tell me what to do. Besides, C.C. and I have a pod ready to go already. She's probably waiting for me."

"Okay, seriously Lelouch, what's with you and that C.C. chick?!" Kallen suddenly exclaimed angrily, "she sneaks onto the Blue Lion, following you, and now you're leaving with her?!"

"And if you leave, Lelouch, we can't form Voltron!" Rai said, angry as well, "And that means we can't defend the universe against Zarkon. You're not the only one with a family; we all have one. _All these Arusians have families. Everyone_ in the universe has families. My mom and sister are still out there as well you know!"

"Yeah, I have a family. They live on Earth. I want to be with them. Is that—Is that, like, a thing that can happen?" Shirley spoke up timidly.

"You want to leave, too?" Allura asked.

"Of course I do. Look, Voltron is super-cool, don't get me wrong, but I never signed up for a lifetime in space fighting aliens." Shirley said, trying to make Allura understand.

"Lelouch," Milly said, "I care about Nunnally as well, we all do. But think about the bigger picture. You're putting the life of one person over the lives of _everyone else_ in the entire galaxy—!"

"—Guys wait!" Suzaku finally spoke, "This isn't how a team should operate. People have to _want_ to be a part of it. They can't be forced," Suzaku looked at Lelouch, with a small desperate gleam in his eye, "Lelouch, If you want to leave, we won't try to stop you. But, _please_ , just think about what you're doing."

Lelouch inhaled deeply, "I'm sorry, but you need to find someone else to pilot the Black Lion."

As Lelouch started walking away, Kallen suddenly caught up to him, grabbing his arm, "Fine! Then I'm going with you too!"

"Wha- Kallen!" Allura protested.

"Look," Kallen interrupted, "I hate the idea of leaving this too. But he has a point. Our world right now is completely unprepared for an attack. We need to at least warn them! So that's what we'll do," she then walked up to the princess and whispered, "and maybe I can convince him to come back."

Allura gasped slightly as Lelouch, and now Kallen both started walking away.

"I can't believe it. This team is falling apart. How will we ever form Voltron?"

o~o

Rivalz and Coran were finally leaving the bridge when the fake Rover came hovering in. They had a good talk about their homeworlds, and Rivalz had to admit he was feeling a bit better.

"Hey Rover!" he greeted as it passed him. It continued in its path until it stopped right next to the crystal.

Rivalz suddenly stopped, noticing something crucial. "Wait… Where's Rai?" he asked as he turned around slowly.

As he looked back at the drone, it suddenly started beeping and flashing red.

Rivalz gasped, realizing what was happening.

"Coran, look out!" He shouted, tackling the Altean as the drone exploded in an inferno.

o~o

The explosion was felt throughout the Castle. The Arusians panicked and started running in all directions and out of the Castle. Suzaku, Rai, Milly, Shirley, and Allura all gasped in horror as small pieces of debris fell around them. Lelouch, Kallen, and C.C., who had been waiting in the shuttle for them, as paused in their actions, staring in terror.

Soon the lights on the Castle of Lions flickered out. No power was flowing from any part of the ship. They were now truly stuck.

o~o

Coran groaned as he slowly got up. The bridge was dark; smoke was gently cascading around him. He blinked several times until he figured out what he was seeing. He heard footsteps as Allura, C.C. and the other Paladins ran into the rooming, some coughing from the smoke.

"What happened?!" Lelouch exclaimed as Suzaku and Kallen helped Coran up.

"Ugh… I'm not sure," he said as he stood up. The smoke slowly cleared to confirm Allura's worst fear though.

"The crystal!" It was in shards everywhere. Their power was gone, and therefore, nothing was going to work until they got a new one. What was even more horrifying, however, was the still figure almost directly underneath it.

"Rivalz!" the princess gasped.

Rai ran forward and gently picked up the Blue Paladin, cradling his neck, "Rivalz?" The Blue Paladin groaned in pain, "Rivalz!"

"We have to get Rivalz to the infirmary!" Shirley exclaimed.

"Without the Crystal, the Castle has no power," Allura said frantically.

"Meaning that those healing pods won't work either," Lelouch said before cursing.

"He doesn't look good…" Milly said kneeling next to Rai, tears gathering in her eyes.

"Lion warriors, our village is under attack!" the Arusian King cried, running into the room, "We need help!"

"Let's get to the Lions!" Suzaku said.

"You can't. They're sealed in their hangars. There's no way to get them out. We're defenseless." Allura said.

"Will you not help us?!" the king asked, eyes shifting between the Paladins in a panic.

"We will. We just-"

Rivalz groaned in pain again, interrupting Kallen. She looked back at her friend, biting her lip.

"Well… this is quite the predicament," C.C. said as if she was talking about the weather.

Ignoring the immortal's tone Coran straightened himself, taking his arm away from Shirley, who had had it draped over her shoulder.

"We have to get a new Crystal to get the Castle working again. But, to get a new Crystal, we need a ship."

"Use the pod we were loading," Lelouch said, "The bay door should still be open!"

"I can use the scanner on the pod to see if there's a Balmera nearby. Shirley, C.C., you both come with me. I'll need some help with carrying the Crystal."

"You're making women do all the heavy lifting? How very ungentleman-like of you," C.C. quipped sarcastically, casually crossing her arms.

"A Balmera?" Shirley asked sounding out the strange word.

"It's where the Crystals come from. I'll tell you two about it on the way!" the advisor said as he, Shirley, C.C., Kallen, and Lelouch exited the room for the hanger.

"I'll go see what's happening at the Arusian village," Suzaku said to Milly and Rai.

"I'll go with you, Suzaku. I brought this on the poor Arusians." Allura said, a layer of guilt in her tone.

"Okay, we'll look after Rivalz and guard the Castle." the Green Paladin said.

o~o

Coran, Shirley, and C.C. had gotten settled in the pod as the advisor turned the scanner on. Lelouch and Kallen were standing outside it.

"It's our first bit of luck," the Altean said, looking at the star map, "there's a source not too far. We won't need a wormhole to get there thankfully."

Shirley quickly adjusted her helmet as the screen lit up with the path to take.

"Hold on; Rai's been doing some tinkering around here. He told me he added some modifications to the some of the shuttles, but I'll try and explain them the best I can," Lelouch said leaning in, and pointing at one of the screens, "The first change is a cloaking device that he reverse-engineered from the invisible walls on the Training Deck. The second is a tank of booster fuel that he mounted on the fuel line."

Coran, however, didn't look very impressed with the second option, "Using that during flight would turn the whole pod into a bomb!"

Shirley paled considerably, and even C.C. looked a little nervous. Not to say she'd never been blown up before, but the experience was never pleasant.

"Oh-kay, maybe refrain from using that modification then," Lelouch said, looking a little apologetic, "mental note, have Rai take it off the shuttles ASAP when this is done."

"Ya think?" Kallen asked sarcastically.

"Are we ready then?" Shirley asked Coran.

"Yes, let's go!" Coran lowered the pod window as it prepared for take-off. The engines ignited, and it hovered as it approached the bay doors.

"Good luck!" Lelouch said, giving Shirley a smile and thumbs up. Kallen waved after them.

From inside the pod, Shirley blushed and sent a thumbs up back before it shot out the doors and into the Arusian night sky.

o~o

Meanwhile, Rai and Milly were slowly transporting Rivalz to the medical wing. Milly was holding his legs while Rai had hoisted him up by the shoulders. They planned to use some of the other supplies inside and their knowledge of medical treatment to at least help with some of the wounds.

"Hang on buddy, help's on the way," Rai said. He stumbled when Milly came to an abrupt stop. She was staring at the entrance to the Castle, petrified. Rai followed her gaze, and his blood ran cold. There was a small Galra troop coming towards them. They were dragging a large purple crystal behind them, and the one leading the assault was-

"Sendak!" Rai snarled, gritting his teeth.

"He's still alive," Milly whispered. The two paladins quickly guided Rivalz body to lie down by the wall.

"Stay here!" Rai said as he raced for the entrance. He met the Galra outside and was the only thing standing between him and the Castle. Both parties stopped.

"Stand aside," Sendak said as the two continued the standoff.

"No!" Rai shouted, whipping out his bayard in a flash of light, readying himself for battle, "You're not getting in,"

"Yes, I am." Sendak thrust his robot arm out towards the Green Paladin. Rai raised his arms to block, but the arm actually grabbed him and dragged him further outside towards the Galra forces. Rai was dragged along the ground with a yell before landing right in front of Sendak. He barely had time to dodge backward as the large arm came crashing down on the ground.

Rai grunted as he pulled out his bayard again, this time igniting it to full charge. He ran forward with a battle cry, arm ready to swing his bayard inward. Sendak raised his arm to block, and the katar scraped across its surface, not even scratching it! He quickly leaped up and swung again, causing Sendak to have to step back to dodge. Rai ducked and rolled out of the way of another strike, flipping backward to get out of range.

He roared again as he sent a frontal attack forward, the bayard crackling with electricity. Sendak's fist also returned with an onslaught of his own, punching his metal hand in Rai's direction. The attacks clashed, the two stuck in a stalemate, though Rai was starting to pant a little.

Sendak's eye narrowed before widening, his robot one whirling. He then smirked, "I see you spent some time with the Druids. They do love to experiment. Too bad you're letting such an ability go to waste."

"Huh?" Rai blinked. What was he talking about? He didn't get the chance to ask this though as the Sendak's arm fluctuated and launched the Green Paladin backward into the Castle. Rai skidded and tumbled back to where Milly and Rivalz were hiding.

"Rai!" Milly gasped as he finally stopped next to them. She didn't have time to expect his injuries though as they had to jump out of the way of Sendak's arm again. It slammed so hard into the ground it left a small crater, and the force sent the two Paladins tumbling back. Sendak was already using the momentum of his attack to propel himself at them again. This time though, Rai managed to grab Sendak by the shoulder and throw him away from them. The Galra roared in fury as Rai ran at him again, bayard activated. The two were soon locked in another stalemate, Rai's bayard by Sendak's neck and Sendak's claws under Rai's chin. If either one of them made a move, they were as good as dead.

"No!" Milly cried out from behind him. Turning around, Rai saw that some sentries had grabbed Rivalz and had thrown him to the ground. Milly was standing behind Rai, surrounded, her bayard out in its kusarigama form. She looked like she was going to attack, but Haxus was also holding a gun to the Blue Paladin's head, looking her in the eye, daring her to try.

Milly looked back at Rai, terror plain to see on her face. This moment of distraction was enough for Sendak to launch Rai forward, catching the Yellow Paladin off balance and knocking them both unconscious. The two collapsed right by their fallen comrade, prisoners of war to the Galra.

"Voltron is ours." Sendak proclaimed with a sinister grin.

o~o

"Damn!" Lelouch whispered as he and Kallen hid behind the balcony.

"What do we do?!" Kallen asked urgently.

"Let's get out of here. It won't help anyone if we're caught as well." the Black Paladin said as the two scrambled down the hallway, his brain working furiously to come up with a plan to get the Galra out of the Castle and save the others.

o~o

The Arusian village was in flames. Blasts from guns desecrating the structures and leaving the homes of the people in ruins. The King and his people could only watch in terror as everything was slowly engulfed. Suzaku and Allura quickly joined them at the top.

"What's happening?" Allura asked.

"Look! Attackers!" the King pointed towards the town square. There were multiple Galra sentries with blasters in their hands and explosions went off in many directions.

"I'll go in for a closer look. Stay here with them," Suzaku ordered as he slid down the wall, gritting his teeth.

"Suzaku!" Allura called out in alarm.

The Purple Paladin leaped into the blaze, using his jet pack to slow his descent. He sneaked through the burning village, hiding behind buildings in case he was attacked… and he wasn't. Warning bells went off in his head as he got closer to the square. He looked through the window of one of the huts, well hidden from the sentries. As the watertower crashed to the ground, one of the droids also fell to its side, limp.

Suzaku blinked, "What?!" Now that he had a closer look, he saw that all of the sentries were damaged and not operating, some of them were even mounted on stilts and had their arms wrapped around their guns with cloth.

His eyes suddenly widened in realization, "Oh no! They tricked us!"

Allura's face paled as Suzaku's voice rang into her ears through her earrings, "It was just a diversion to separate us and thin the Castle's defenses!" Allura whipped her head around, her eyes widening in terror as she gazed at the defenseless castle.

o~o

Inside the Castle, the working sentries plugged the Galra crystal into the Castle's central power system.

"Power up the Castle," Sendak order, the symbol of the Galra Empire flashed to life on the screens. The once soothing blue lights of the Castle of Lions was soon flooded with a sinister violet. Even the lights outside had switched to match its new master's.

o~o

As the system reactivated, the screens on all the Lion hangers flashed to life, showing all seven felines sitting dormant in their chambers. The Galran commander smirked cruelly in victory. "The Lions are all in their bays. Raising particle barrier. Begin launch sequence."

Suzaku and Allura ran as fast as their legs could carry them as the now violet particle barrier descended over the Castle. The wall slammed to the ground just as the two collided with it. Suzaku slammed his fist against it, but it didn't budge.

"We're too late… No!" Suzaku shouted in anger.

"They have control of the Castle. They're taking Voltron!" Allura gasped in fear.

o~o

After checking over the crystal one last time, and glancing at his three unconscious prisoners, Sendak turned to Haxus, "Make contact with Emperor Zarkon."

His fellow Galra nodded and pressed a few buttons on the holopads. The screen in the middle blinked to life as a link was made. Soon the Emperor's sinister face flashed onto the screen.

"Sendak," he acknowledged.

"My mission is complete," Sendak debriefed, grinning in triumph, "I've captured the Altean castle, along with all of the Voltron Lions. I am currently preparing for launch and will be delivering them all to you shortly."

"This news is most pleasing," Zarkon said, showing little expression, "You've done your duty. Vrepit Sa!"

"Vrepit Sa!" saluted as the communication ended, "Haxus, ready the Castle for take off."

"Yes, Commander."

o~o

Suzaku morphed his bayard to its katana form, looking at Allura desperately, "Can we break through the barrier?"

"No. And whoever has taken the Castle has a Crystal, which means they'll be able to fly the ship. We have to stop them," she answered.

"How are we going to do that?" he asked.

"Suzaku, can you hear me?"

The Purple Paladin gasped at the voice, "Lelouch?! Is that you?!"

"Yes, Kallen's with me as well."

"Where are you two?"

"We're inside the Castle. We managed to evade capture… for now." the Britannian Prince answered.

"Sendak has taken over, and he's preparing for launch. He's got Rai, Milly, and Rivalz." Kallen added in the same hushed tone. Rover, who they ran into as they escaped down the hallway was hovering next to them.

"Lelouch, Kallen, listen. If they've started the launch sequence, then we don't have much time before liftoff to stop it." Allura informed them urgently.

"Tell us what to do," Lelouch ordered.

"You have to get down to the main engine control panel and disconnect the primary turbine from the Central Energy Chamber," Allura instructed. Lelouch tapped his armor gauntlet, pulling up a screen. It contained a map of the Castle's interior. He pushed a couple more commands, and soon a red path lead him to the chamber she was talking about, "If you can do that, Sendak will have to reset the whole system. That might give us enough time to find a way to stop them."

Lelouch glanced at Kallen. They both nodded before shooting up from their hiding place and running down the hall, the fate of the very universe resting on them right now.

o~o

Shirley never knew how alone she felt until the pod was finally out of range of the Castle. She felt the bond she shared with Orange (they had to come up with some better names for their lions) fade and then disappear as they traveled through the stars. Now being alone in her own mind felt… weird. Like a crucial part of her spirit, her very being had been removed. She shivered as the sensation seemed to deepen the more they traveled.

"Are we almost there?" C.C. asked from the back seat. She sounded bored.

"Almost, don't get your hair in a knot. It's not safe to pilot this pod any faster," Coran said.

Finally, a planet that had several large rock pikes and edged mountain ranges came into view.

"Is that the Balmera planet with the crystals?" Shirley asked.

"It's not a planet. Balmera are ancient animals. Petrified, but still alive," Coran informed her. Shirley looked out in shock at the 'animal' they were propelling closer towards. She had no idea that creatures this big existed. Even C.C. looked intrigued at this revelation.

"Their bodies naturally create the crystals that help power many Altean ships. I often accompanied my grandfather to visit these majestic creatures when he was building the Castle of Lions," Coran reminisced, the pod screen pulling up a picture of a Balmera from 10,000 years ago, the ground sparkled with blue crystals, "I'll never forget the first time I saw the sparkling surface of a Balmera. You're both in for quite a treat."

As they finally broke through the cloud surface; however, it wasn't sparkling landscapes that greeted them, but a wasteland with large, dark-colored machinery drilled into the Balmera's surface.

"Oh no!" Coran gasped, as they flew over several gaping holes in the surface, some more reinforced than others, "This is horrifying! The Galra have turned this into a mining colony! Oh, they're completely destroying it! They have no regard for the poor creature!"

"Incoming, we've been spotted" C.C. informed the Altean as a large shadow drew over them.

"Hailing unidentified craft. State your ship ID, entry code, and landing destination." the ship's robotic voice demanded as it hovered over them.

"Um… what do we do?" Shirley asked, starting to panic.

Before Coran could reply, C.C. leaned forward, "Hailing Galra aircraft," she spoke monotonously, "this is ship number XG21G2D4. Requesting permission to land at once."

"There's no ship of that number expected to come through here," the voice said, the ship descending to almost being on top of them, "land immediately and prepare to be boarded."

"With pleasure," C.C. smirked before turning to Coran who was looking at her with an expression of shock. A similar expression was on Shirley's face as well. "see you down below."

Coran blinked before it understanding C.C.'s silent message as he yanked back on the control handle. The pod rocketed backward from underneath the ship. Shirley held on for dear life as she screamed in terror, while C.C. braced herself against the wall.

The shuttle swerved left and right to avoid the blasts from the pursuing Galra ship.

Then Coran had an idea, "Not done yet. Hang on!"

The pod pitched downward into one of the gaping holes in the Balmera. It was large enough that the ship would've fit comfortably in the middle, longwise. Shirley continued to scream as they descended at breakneck speed into the abyss.

It was about thirty seconds of straight diving before the Orange Paladin eventually got control of herself enough to ask, "How deep _is_ this thing?!"

"Look out!" C.C. cried as one of the beams appeared right in front of them. Coran managed to swerve the pod out of the way just in time. It barely missed knicking the post.

The swerve did cause Coran to lose control of the pod though, and the trio tumbled the rest of the way down before landing ungracefully at the bottom with a lurch.

Shirley sat there in shock for about a solid minute before having the courage and strength to move again. The window of the pod flickered out as the passengers groaned from the impact. C.C. could already feel the bruises forming on her immortal body.

Shirley wrenched off her helmet, her hair flowing down her back (as she didn't have time to pull it into a bun or ponytail) and looked around the bottom of the crater. She could barely see the light of the surface above them. She gazed to her right which had a small tunnel leading away from the crash site.

She froze and grabbed her bayard as two sets of glowing yellow eyes stared back at her.

"Uh, Coran. What lives at the bottom of these mines?"

o~o

Back at the Castle of Lions, Kallen used her clawed bayard to wrench the elevator shaft doors open. She shoved up against them with her feet and back, panting as Lelouch looked over her leg and down to the shaft below. Rover hovered over them, before positioning himself above the center of the shaft.

"Okay, here goes nothing," Lelouch leaped forward, using his jetpack to propel him and jumped across the chasm to the lower ledge underneath. Kallen grunted, letting the doors slam closed before following after him. The faithful robot drone quickly tailed behind them in case they needed help.

o~o

"Run main cluster activation sequence," Sendak ordered.

"Activation sequence initiated," Haxus confirmed, "Powering up for launch."

o~o

After wrenching another pair of doors open, the two paladins, though exhausted finally made it to the Central Energy Chamber. The ball of pure energy was alight with a blue glow.

"Okay Princess, we're near the turbine," Lelouch said.

"It looks like its started!" Kallen added.

o~o

"Then you'll have to hurry," Allura said, "Cross the catwalk to the main column in the center."

o~o

The two paladins panted as they sprinted to the center column. They couldn't afford to waste any more time!

"Okay, we're there," Kallen said.

"Now open the hatch," Allura instructed. Lelouch bent down and removed the covering and looked inside, "Find the central computer control hub and enter the following sequence..."

"Princess wait! Which is it? All these labels are in Altean!" Lelouch snapped, cursing at himself for not learning at _least_ some basic Altean while he was here.

o~o

"Commander Sendak, we are ready for launch," Haxus said, looking at the commander.

o~o

The orb in the center of the chamber suddenly pulsed, large bolts of energy hitting it at once. The turbine was powering up, which only meant one thing! It was about to launch.

"Argh! I can't tell which one it is!" Lelouch shouted.

"Allura! Allura?! Damn!" Kallen cursed as the link lost the connection.

o~o

"I've lost connection with them!" Allura exclaimed as she and Suzaku backed up in horror, "Oh no! It's taking off!"

o~o

Lelouch was still kneeling in front of the control panel, trying to make heads and tails of the connections. For all, he knew if he adjusted the wrong one-

He was thrown backward as Kallen got in the way. Her bayard claws were extended.

"What are you-!"

"The hell with this!" Kallen screamed as she buried her claw into the circuits. She was shocked backward, almost hitting Lelouch. She groaned and held her arm, as it felt like it was on fire, her bayard bouncing away.

"Kallen! Are you alright?!" Lelouch asked, kneeling next to her.

"Peachy!" she hissed sarcastically, glaring at him. Kallen's impulsive maneuver seemed to work though, as the turbine's sound subsided, energy levels dropped, and the energy ball in the center decreased to about an eighth of its original size.

"Well, I guess that's one way to do it," Lelouch shrugged with a sheepish grin, helping Kallen sit up. She grinned viciously at him, though was also relieved it worked.

o~o

"The main engine just shorted out!" Haxus exclaimed in alarm and frustration. Sendak scowled and approached the screen. The camera came online and zoomed in on the two figures with the modified drone. The two of them had wrenched the doors open to let it through before bolting through themselves.

"We have some saboteurs. Find them and take them out."

o~o

 **AN: FINALLY! Finals are done! And to celebrate I finished this chapter for you all! You're welcome!**

 **So a lot of you have noticed the new picture I have on my profile and for the story. Well, our lovely Iron117Prime commissioned a friend of his to make a drawing for this fanfic! And I got to tell you! It's AMAZING! I'll post a full view of it on my ao3 page so you can view it! Once again, thank you so much Iron117Prime, you're the best!**

 **Also, those fun facts about Lelouch, I completely made them up. No idea if any of them are true!**

 **Oh boy! This chapter was intense and I can't wait to begin the next one! Love you all and thank you for reading!**


	10. Chapter 10: Tears of the Balmera

Chapter 10: Tears of the Balmera

Rai's eyes barely opened as he turned his head to look around. He felt that his arms were bound behind his back and the room seemed darker than usual.

"Rai," he heard a whimper to his right. Turning his head, he saw Milly also bound, her hands tied, but she was leaning over Rivalz, trying to hide tears.

"It's going to be okay Milly," he tried to say comfortingly.

"Haxus! I want whoever's in this ship found and terminated!" Sendak's voice rang out. Rai lifted his head to the center of the room, which he realized was the bridge. It was now alight with a purple glow compared to the neon blue they were all used to. From the sound of his tone though, Sendak was angry. Did something happen?

"Commander Sendak, I've received a transmission generating from somewhere inside," Haxus informed him as he punched in a few more buttons.

 _"There's not much time before they get the ship running again. You must shut off the particle barrier so we can get in."_ Allura's slightly pixeled out voice rang out.

" _Got it; what do we do?"_ Kallen's voice asked.

 _"The particle barrier generator is beneath the main hull."_

" _Understood,"_ Rai's eyes widened as he recognized Lelouch's voice.

"She's telling the intruders how to take down our defenses," Haxus said, a slight layer of concern in his tone.

"Yes, but she's also giving away his location. Find that room. Kill the Paladins!" Sendak ordered.

"Rai…" Milly whispered fearfully as the sentries left. If they caught Lelouch and Kallen, they were done for.

"It's going to be okay Milly, believe in them," he whispered back with a small smile.

"You stop talking!" Sendak snapped at them, causing Rai glare back and Milly flinch away, "Repair the engine," he told Haxus, "Emperor Zarkon has commanded us to bring him Voltron. This ship will rise before day's end."

o~o

Meanwhile back on the Balmera planet, Coran, C.C., and Shirley all took cover by the pod as two figures approached them from the tunnels.

Shirley pulled her bayard out and unsteadily pointed the bow at them. "Okay, don't come any closer! I don't know how to use this very well."

As the creatures came into the light; however, she saw that they weren't Galra, but two large built, thick, stone-skinned bipedal creatures, with gold eyes that matched those of the Galra. Their faces didn't seem to have a nose, and instead of hair, their heads had a thick layer of cartilage that made it look like helmets. The shorter one even had hoops on the sides of it. Their clothing looked ragged and worn out, and their two-toed feet were bare.

"Wait a minute. You're not Galra!" Shirley gasped, lowering her bow.

"Nor are you!" the shorter one gasped, a feminine voice exiting. Her tone was wary but also coated with relief and hope.

There was suddenly a humming sound from above, and the creatures looked upwards, the shorter one gasping. Looking up, Shirley saw a Galra ship, maybe the same one that was chasing them, descending the shaft. Red lights shined out scanning for signs of intruders.

"A patrol!" the taller one exclaimed, before turning to his companion, "Shay we must take leave from these ones, now."

"Wait, please! We need your help. If the Galra find us, they'll kill us." Coran pleaded.

"Or torture us!" Shirley added.

"Or capture us and stuff us in testing tubes to be living experiments for them," C.C. said. Coran and Shirley looked at the immortal horrified. "What? It _could_ happen," she shrugged nonchalantly.

"Not our problem, stranger. Galra see us near you, and they kill both you and us. Shay, exeunt!" the taller alien said, about to leave.

"No!" Shay protested, "These many years only Galra have been seen here. I will not turn my back on the skylings."

The trio let out a breath of relief as the female alien agreed to help. Shay looked at her brother pleading him to help.

He finally sighed, "...Vex!" He ran out towards the pod and began pushing it towards the tunnel. Now that Shirley had a better look at them, she saw that these aliens also had tails!

"Grab a side!" he said, ordering Shay, "In here, hurry!" Together they pushed the pod deep into the tunnel. It was just in time too. The Galra ship passed by their level before leaving for the top again.

As the Galra ship left, everyone breathed out in relief. That was _way_ too close.

"Thanks for saving us. I'm Shirley," the Orange Paladin said, smiling at the aliens.

"Shay," the alien smiled, "And this one, my brother Rax. How did you fall to us?"

"We're looking for something," C.C. said, "And we believe your people might be able to help us find it."

o~o

"Lelouch, have you and Kallen made it to the generator room?" Allura asked.

"Yes, but I'm hesitant to continue forward," the Prince said but hesitated at the entrance doors. The room looked similar to the other hallways of the Castle. The only difference was that on the sides there were vast bolts of violet electricity crackling around them.

"What? Why?" Allura asked.

"I think we may be walking into an ambush," Lelouch told her.

"How do you know?" Kallen asked.

"Think about it, Sendak at the moment has complete control of the Castle. Meaning he may have access to any frequencies entering and exiting it. For all, we know he's been listening in to our entire conversation."

"Are you sure?" Kallen asked as the two along with Rover walked down the generator's hall, "If this was an ambush he set up, wouldn't we have been attacked by now?"

" _Just be careful you two, the lives of your fellow Paladins are at stake,"_ Allura said.

"Talk us through it, fast!" Lelouch said.

" _Shutting down the barrier from this room can be dangerous. Remember, the barrier is also a weapon. So, stay away from the energy arcs."_

"Don't touch the giant lightning bolts got it," Lelouch summed up.

As Allura continued to talk them through the process, Kallen bit her lip. That was true. Milly, Rai, and Rivalz would die if they didn't do this. She thought back to the oath that she made when the Black Knights made their debut just over two weeks (movements?) ago. They swore that they would protect _anyone_ too weak protect themselves, nationalities and social status didn't matter.

" _Those of you with power, fear us! Those of you without it, rally behind as you see fit!"_

Zero's words ran through her head as she continued to think back. Milly had inducted her into the student council so that it would be easier on her 'health' and all of them had been welcoming, even Nina who was considered the shiest of the bunch. She was never super close to any of them, heck, now that she thought about it, this was the closest interaction that she'd had with them since the beginning!

She also thought about what her brother, Naoto would think of all this. The Black Knights, Voltron, the Ga-

Rover suddenly beeped in alarm, and that was the only warning they got as a laser blast barely missed the pair.

" _Lelouch? Hello? Are you there?!"_

"Sorry Princess, but I have cut communications. We can't risk Sendak finding us again!" Lelouch shouted before cutting the connection and he and Kallen running for their lives as the sentries stormed into the room.

o~o

"Lelouch what's going on?!" she demanded. All that answered her was static. She bit her lip, panicking for a second. Then an idea struck.

"Wait... the mice! Maybe they can help," she said to herself as she then closed her eyes in concentration.

" _Friends..."_

o~o

The Space Mice were currently lounging in Allura's bedroom, a couple of them rifling through her jewelry box.

" _...I need your help,"_ Allura's plea echoed in their heads. Platt, who had been lying outside the box, seeing how he was too big, quickly butted it open, and his three siblings jumped out, scattering a few gems and rings on the dresser. They quickly scampered off to the closest air shaft.

o~o

Back in the Generator room, Lelouch and Kallen managed to find shelter behind one of the structures, shielding them from the sentries' blasts.

"Kallen, find an escape route fast!" Lelouch ordered, and the Red Paladin pulled up her gauntlet screen. It quickly analyzed the room, before pointing to their exit.

"You're kidding me; our only exit is two floors up!" She shouted, risking a glance behind to spot the air shaft.

Lelouch held out his hand, concentrating, trying to summon some of that lightning from before. Nothing came out though. "What the hell?!" he whispered. Now was certainly _not_ the opportune time for his abilities to be stuck. Wait, lightning!

"Kallen, I've got an idea, try and distract a few of them!"

Kallen nodded before springing out from behind her hiding place, quickly charging two of the sentries. Then Lelouch ran out and attempted to leap to the upper floor. Kallen had managed to take out two of them, but a third hit Lelouch in the chest… before his form flickered and the blast hit one of the lightning bolts instead. It zapped the sentry backward, effectively destroying it, and nearly hitting the fourth.

"Kallen, come on!" Taking this moment of surprise to their advantage, the two bolted for the exit. They managed to dodge the blasts from the final sentry before Lelouch leaped up and grabbed onto Rover, who propelled him upward. He felt Kallen grab onto his middle and they were quickly and safely transported to the upper air duct. Lelouch let go as soon as his feet hit the narrow ledge.

"I can't believe that worked!" Lelouch gasped with a short laugh as he crawled towards the ducts.

"GO!" Kallen shouted as she pushed Lelouch through, barely dodging another blast. The sentry kept firing until the two Paladins and bot disappeared inside.

"You stay here and guard the generator," the sentry told his remaining comrade as he ran off in pursuit.

At one point Kallen managed to climb over Lelouch in the duct and sliced through to the other side. She crawled out and was shocked to see that the airway had led them to the Training Deck. The two climbed to their feet and made a move for the exit. But the observation deck window burst above them, and the sentry that came after them jumped between them and the door.

"You again?! Man you're persistent!" Kallen yelled as she raised her shield to block the attacks. With a battle cry, Kallen rushed forward, giving the sentry no time to dodge as she sliced it in two.

"That ought to teach 'em!" she grinned.

"I wouldn't go that far!" Lelouch exclaimed. Kallen froze as a noise they were both familiar with was heard above them. The gladiator landed with a crash in the middle of the deck, staff in hand.

"Seriously?!" Kallen yelled. The gladiator ran at Lelouch first, seeing as he didn't have any immediate weapons with him. He pulled his shield up to block, but the gladiator was ruthless and kept pounding on it, driving the Black Paladin to his knees.

"Hey! Dipstick!" Kallen shouted as she charged, drawing its attention. It swung it's staff around to hit Kallen, which she managed to block with her claws. While Kallen was holding the gladiator back, Lelouch hit a control on the back of his shield, showing the layout of the invisible maze.

"See if you can handle this!" He grinned deviously as he pushed the button to activate it. Kallen quickly leaped backward as the Gladiator tried to strike again only to run into the maze's wall, which knocked it backward.

"Come on!" he shouted, pulling open another air shaft on the floor. Kallen ran over as Lelouch dropped himself down, she quickly followed along with Rover. They crawl through the duct again before coming to some crossroads… only to almost get hit by another laser blast! The gladiator had escaped the maze, grabbed the fallen sentry's gun, and had pursued them down the shaft!

The two quickly dodged to the right and began crawling for their lives, the gladiator sliding after them, shooting them as they went. Halfway across another shaft was another shaft that led downwards. Lelouch jumped the gap, but as Kallen was about to the gladiator landed a hit on her jetpack. She screamed as she stumbled, beginning to fall.

"Kallen!" Lelouch shouted as he reached after her, grabbing her hand. Unfortunately, the momentum, along with being anchored down by her weight and his weak arm strength resulted in them both tumbling down the shaft. It would've been a painful demise if Kallen didn't jam her bayard claws into the side to prevent them from falling further, right above another ledge which Lelouch cautiously landed on.

The gladiator wasn't done yet though. It braced itself between the sides of the shaft and continued to fire at them. It, however, didn't count on a certain reprogrammed drone to suddenly hit it hard in the back, causing it to lose its grip, tumbling down into the shaft. The sudden tumble caught Kallen by surprise, accidentally switching her bayard off! She screamed as she began to fall after it, but a well-timed leap from Lelouch's ledge allowed the Black Paladin to catch her and brace both of them on the other end. They both watched as they lost sight of the robot before it burst into flames upon hitting bottom.

They both breathed a sigh of relief after that, now that they were officially safe… only to blush two seconds later when they realized how close to each other's chest they were.

Next, to them, Rover beeped out a series of noises, as if it were laughing!

"Not funny Rover!" Kallen exclaimed cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

o~o

Back on the Balmera, Shirley, Coran, and C.C. were sitting around a fire with Shay, Rax, and the rest of their family. Despite being strangers, the Balmerans were very kind to them, offering them food and temporary shelter.

"Thanks for the delicious soup," Shirley said graciously, not realizing how hungry she'd been before, "are these potatoes in here?"

"Grandma's special dish for special visitors," Shay smiled, "Cave-root for the skin. Cave bugs for the soul."

Shirley was in the middle of drinking the rest of the broth when she heard and tried her hardest not to spew everything back up, forcing herself to swallow, holding her fist to mouth to keep from vomiting. Plus, it looked like this was all the food these people had, so she at least tried to be polite.

Coran also grimaced, but still strained a smile, "Thank you for the bugs," Shay's grandmother smiled and poured more into Coran's bowl, "Okay, I think that's too many."

C.C. seemed the least affected of the three. She was just glad they had _something_ to eat. She remembered when she was once a child that she had to survive off of less and even worse than a few cave insects. She just shrugged and placed her bowl next to her.

Soup aside, however, Shirley turned her attention to the aliens themselves, "So, how many of you are down here exactly?"

"There are thousands here on Balmera," Shay's father replied, "We work and live in these mines."

"We harvest crystals for Zarkon," Shay added.

"Zarkon," Shirley grit her teeth, angry. She couldn't believe he was letting so many people suffer, "That's so... sad that he's enslaved an entire planet."

"Zarkon may rule, but we still have family. That's where true happiness comes from," the father said, smiling a little. Shirley, moved by this sent a small smile back. She then struggled to hold back tears as she thought of her mom and dad back on Earth, and how much she missed them.

Rax suddenly leaped to his feet, "The Galra would tear our family asunder if they found these ones! Everyone comes to Balmera and takes, but gives nothing in return."

"In the past, those who took the Balmera's Crystals would replenish her with energy," Shay explained in a depressed tone, "It was an equal exchange. But the Galra only take. It is no wonder we can feel her suffering."

Shay placed her hand lightly on the ground, and it began to glow a faint blue. Soft echoes filled the tunnel as the Balmera cried out. Shirley, Coran, and even C.C. looked on with remorse. These people and this animal were suffering so much from the Galra's greed. There had to be a way to help them.

"I'm sorry that we put everyone in this situation," Shirley said sincerely, "but the faster we get the Crystal and get out, the faster everyone is out of danger."

"We're looking for a battleship-class Crystal," Coran informed them.

"Battleship-class Crystal? Those are most rare," the father informed them regrettably, "Galra soldiers guard them ceaselessly until their harvest. Your quest is in vain."

"There is one, found only weeks ago. It is almost excavated." Shay said, but Rax cut her off before she could say anything else.

"Quiet! Even if they could steal the Crystal from the Galra, battle patrols wait to take down their ship. These ones have no chance of getting out of here alive, with Crystal or without."

Shirley gulped a little as she recognized the tone Rax was using. It was the same tone that Lelouch used when he heard someone talking bad about his sister. It was a tone used when trying to protect what was most precious to you, and both cases, it was family.

"So it would seem this Crystal we need is the hardest thing in the universe to get," C.C. said, folding her arms around her legs and leaning back slightly.

"Well, I don't know about the hardest," Coran argued, "There is the scaultrite mineral found only in the stomachs of giant weblums. Collecting that stuff's no picnic. Uh, but, yes, th-this seems very difficult."

"You've had some wacky adventures haven't you?" Shirley asked with a quirked eyebrow. Coran grinned back sheepishly.

"You may stay here until Balmera gives another Crystal. One that is hidden from Galra eyes." Shay offered, but Shirley shook her head.

"We don't have time. One of my friends is injured, and he needs to get into a magic healing machine, stat."

"C.C., Shirley, stay by the pod and make sure it's not too damaged. I'm going to do some reconnaissance and see if I can come up with another plan." Coran said as he got to his feet, leaving the girls with the Balmeran family.

o~o

Kallen sliced through another air duct, and after looking around crawled out. Lelouch and Rover followed close behind. After the save in the last shaft, they managed to find a more stable one that took them to one of the Castle's hallways.

Lelouch looked around quickly and found that they were alone leaned back against the wall with a sigh and removed his helmet, "I think we're safe for the moment…"

"What do we do?" Kallen said, "We haven't exactly made much progress in stopping Sendak."

"That's not true," Lelouch immediately disagreed, "Yes, Sendak still has complete control of the Castle, meaning he can track our movements with the cameras and any communications with Allura and Suzaku. We probably can't access the Lions either; he's likely locked their hanger doors."

"How does that help us?!" Kallen exclaimed in frustration.

Lelouch straightened and put a firm hand on her shoulder, "Kallen, you need to calm down. The last thing either of us wants to do is panic right now,"

The Red Paladin blinked. She'd heard that tone before. It was one that Zero gave when directing them in battle. This surprisingly calmed her down significantly.

"Now it's true, we're in a tight spot, but think about Sendak's situation as well. Did you notice how many sentries there were when they first came in?"

Kallen blinked before she remembered. When they had been watching from the balcony, there had been only about five or six of them.

"That's right," Lelouch nodded, as if reading her mind, "There were only about five or six of them, along with only one other Galra. And if my math is correct, we managed to take out at least four of them. That means there's only one or two of them left. And my guess is that they're the ones still guarding the Power Generator."

"Well let's go and take those out!" Kallen said, "We can handle one or two robots!"

"Negative," Lelouch shook his head, "That's likely what Sendak is expecting us to do. If we go back to attack the robot, that gives the other Galra more time to repair the engines, it's a diversion. Plus, he still has Rivalz, Rai, and Milly as hostages, so it'd be foolish to go after the 'King piece' right now. Our best course of action would be taking out the other Galra with him. Eliminating him will cut off Sendak's chances of repair the engines unless he goes to do it himself."

"And if he does that, that would give _us_ time to free the others and take down the particle barrier. It's a loss for him either way!" Kallen exclaimed in realization.

"Exactly," Lelouch smirked victoriously, "he doesn't realize it yet, but he's just left himself open for checkmate."

"Let's go then!" Kallen said, already about to take off for the Turbine room again. Lelouch nodded, and they both ran off, Rover trailing behind them.

' _He and Zero act so much alike…'_ Kallen thought as they ran, ' _But they're not the same person, that was confirmed when Zero called me in the bathroom… Still..'_

As they ran, Lelouch was also thinking, his mind racing with memories of the past. He remembered when he and Suzaku first met. They didn't get along at first, not surprising because of how different they had been, and still were. But they eventually warmed up to each other and became the best of friends.

Milly's family had offered them sanctuary after Britannia's invasion of Japan and had kept his and Nunnally's identities secret for the time being. He had met Rivalz not too long after, the two of them hit it off right away, feeling like they understood each other due to their difficult family situations since his parents were estranged (though to Rivalz knowledge, Lelouch and Nunnally's parents died in the invasion).

The rest of the current student council slowly trickled into his life over the years. Almost all of them made efforts to befriend him and his sister. Despite their efforts though, Lelouch always seemed to keep his distance. Ever since the confrontation with his father those eight years ago, he learned not to place too much trust in people. He feared that if they found out the truth, about his true identity as a Prince of Britannia, that they would leave him and turn their backs on him and his sister. They'd end up as political tools, a casualty of royal ambition.

But… ever since landing in the Blue Lion at this Castle, that resolve was slowly cracking away what Shirley said after they formed Voltron for the second time after.

" _No secrets, no barriers, no nothing. A family all the way. I love you guys!"_

And it was true, he had felt closer to them. He was starting to see them as siblings he never had… and also…

" _In here?" Lelouch said, turning to C.C._

" _This is where Coran said he was located," the green-haired witch said. Lelouch crept into the room. It was only lit with a small glowing orb at the center of the room. He reached out for it, and suddenly burst with color. Lelouch was soon surrounded by a magnificent field of flowers, mountains rising in the distance and a clear blue sky above him._

" _How-"_

 _Before Lelouch could finish his thought, a glitching sound started from behind him. Turning around, the form of late King Alfor appeared before him._

" _So you're King Alfor, former patriarch of planet Altea," Lelouch addressed formerly, "as well as Princess Allura's father."_

" _Well, this is quite the surprise," Alfor said, "I haven't had anyone else come to visit me. What may I do for you, Lelouch?"_

" _You know my name?" he frowned._

" _Allura has told all about you and the new paladins," the king informed him kindly, "and how fast you are progressing at your paladin training."_

" _Yes well…" Lelouch hesitated for a moment before continuing, "...about that. I wanted to inquire you about something, specifically the Lions."_

" _Go on?" Alfor asked in a concerned tone. Lelouch didn't understand, but despite just meeting Alfor, he felt… calm. Safe around him. It was the exact opposite feeling he had when in the imposing presence of_ his _father._

" _When the Lions picked their paladins for the first time," Lelouch said, "did any of them have second thoughts. Did any feel like this wasn't their calling? Like they had other things they had to attend to?"_

 _Alfor smiled ruefully, "Well, I'll be honest after Allura was born, it_ was _hard for my wife and myself to split our attention between Voltron and her upbringing. And there were times that I considered stepping down as Paladin and letting someone else take the reins."_

" _Wait-_ you _were a Voltron Paladin?" Lelouch asked, shocked, "You_ and _your wife."_

" _I was," Alfor nodded, "I created Lions of Voltron and was thereafter chosen by the Red Lion as its first pilot, while my wife, Melenor was claimed by the Purple Lion."_

" _And yet at the same time, you still had an obligation to your subjects," Lelouch said._

" _Indeed," Alfor nodded, "but it was when my conflicting thoughts came into play that I realized something else as well. The other Paladins that fought alongside us, they weren't just teammates to us. They were also treasured members of our family. If I left them to pursue my duties as king permanently, I'd also be putting them in danger by not being there. By fighting alongside my brothers and sisters and grew to understand that I was protecting_ all _the members of my family, and I wouldn't have it any other way."_

' _Now I get it,'_ Lelouch thought with a sad smile, ' _they were your family. They're…_ my _family,'_

"Lelouch?" Kallen called out from down the hall. He raised his head in surprise. With all his thinking he hadn't realized that he stopped, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, sorry!" he called as he ran to catch up.

"What's wrong?" she asked as they ran next to each other.

"I guess… I just realized how poorly I've been treating my friends is all," Lelouch answered before his eyes narrowed, "but that's about to change!"

Now that he thought about it, he'd be lying if he said he _didn't_ care about the other members of the team. It was one of the driving forces that allowed him to save them during the hotel-jacking, not just because Colonel Kusakabe was in the wrong for endangering civilians. He cared about the safety of the Black Knights as well. It was always difficult to see when his plans involved sacrificing some of them to win. If there had been another way, all the Black Knights would come out of battle, maybe a little beaten up at times, but at least alive.

His earlier declaration about preparing Earth for an invasion wasn't wrong either though. With the way, Britannia was moving now and the disarray of the other nations, should the Galra attack, they'd all be wiped out. Even Britannia wouldn't last long.

Now it seemed defeating Britannia was out of the picture as well. If they wanted a chance against the Galra, they _needed_ Britannia's technology. They didn't need it to conquer though. They needed to use it to defend the planet. But Britannia would only cooperate if they knew it was a force they couldn't easily defeat.

If they took Voltron to Earth, and the Empire saw that even _they_ stood no chance against the juggernaut, it could at least pacify Britannia and its forces for the time being and force them to cooperate. Only if Earth stood on a united front would the Galra be driven back.

' _To do that though…_ ' Lelouch would need to reveal his identity to the others and explain to them his actions. _Including_ his identity as Zero. If they were to be a fully supportive team, there couldn't be any secrets between them. And if they were his te-his _family_ , they wouldn't turn their back on him.

He nodded at this silent declaration as he and Kallen continued to the turbine chamber.

o~o

Somewhere else in the Castle, the Space Mice were also doing their own infiltration. Allura had ordered them to get to the generator room and turn off the particle barrier so that they could get inside. Due to their small size, Sendak wasn't able to pick up their presence. And even if he did, he would have brushed them off as merely pests he'd deal with later. Plus, he didn't know about Princess Allura's connection to them, allowing communication to be made between them easily.

It was perfect!

o~o

Back outside the Castle, Allura was pacing with anxiety. Lelouch and Kallen hadn't contacted her or Suzaku again for several hours. She understood his caution for turning off the communicators, but then she also couldn't tell them how to stop Sendak effectively. The mice were currently doing a well enough job sneaking to the generator room, and hopefully, the particle barrier would be down soon so that they could help.

"You okay Princess?" Suzaku asked, "You look worried."

"It's because I am," she admitted, "We haven't heard from Kallen _or_ Lelouch for varga now. We don't know if they are alright or not!"

"Calm down Princess," Suzaku said putting a hand on her shoulder, "trust me when I tell you that they're fine. Lelouch is one of the smartest people I know. If anyone can figure out a way to stop Sendak, it's him. Plus, he has Kallen with him. She can handle herself."

' _Which is weird…'_ Suzaku said silently, ' _It's obvious now that she's never been sick. So then… why would she pretend to be? To skip school? Get out of P.E. like Lelouch tries to? The way she moved during training, it's like she's been fighting all her life…'_

"From the way you speak of him, it sounds like you've known him for a long while," Allura observed with a smile, despite the situation.

"Yeah," Suzaku nodded, "we were childhood friends, but we lost contact with each other until about a few months ago," he chuckled a little, "but he hasn't changed a bit."

"If I might ask…" Allura inquired, "Lelouch mentioned he had a sister. What exactly happened to her?"

"Oh!" Suzaku said, looking apprehensive, "Um… there was an… an incident in their early childhood that caused her to lose her legs and sight."

"What kind of incident?" Allura questioned further, "It wouldn't have anything to do with him being a prince would it?"

Suzaku physically jumped back, his eyes wide in shock. "How do you know about that?!"

"The mice told me. They overheard him and C.C. talking about something, and the subject was brought up," she explained.

"Oh… that makes sense I guess…" Suzaku muttered in relief.

"Although…" Allura frowned, "When I tried to talk to him about it, he spoke of it with such contempt… I don't understand why though."

Suzaku bit his lip, "I think it's best if he told you about it himself," he then laughed ruefully, "if he found out I blabbed about it, he'd put me through the wringer."

Allura smiled awkwardly before frowning again, her eyebrows knit together in thought.

" _And I'll die first before I let my_ father _get his filthy hands on her again!"_

' _If Lelouch is a prince, that would make his father a king,'_ the Altean royal thought in confusion, ' _so why in Alaaran did he speak so… viciously about him? And he can't possibly mean that his father truly_ abandoned _them, does he?'_

o~o

Thanks to C.C.'s quick save from earlier, the pod didn't sustain any structural damage, even when they crashed into the tunnel wall. At least that's what C.C. herself informed Shirley as she inspected the craft. The Orange Paladin was honestly shocked how much C.C. knew about engineering and fixing equipment. She may as well be a professional mechanic.

The two weren't alone though. Shay was leaning against a rock, watching them as they worked.

"Tell me, what is the sky like?" she suddenly asked curiously.

"The sky?" Shirley asked, shocked. Of all the questions to be asked, she certainly wasn't expecting this one, "You seriously have never even _seen_ the sky?"

Shay looked down, a sad look on her face, "No…" but then the Balmera grinned, and leaped gracefully to the top of the pod, "...but, at night, I sneak up as high as I dare, trying to imagine what it is like. Oh, lucky are you to fly in this machine to worlds far from here."

"Well, it doesn't have to be like this. You can be free, too."

"Free?" Shay asked, the word sounding so foreign in her tone.

"Yeah, free," Shirley tried to explain as Shay hopped back down to the ground, "It means you can go where you want, be what you want, do what you want. No Galra masters to tell you what to do."

"It makes no sense. Zarkon controls everything," Shay said sadly.

"Well-yeah, right now he seems to…" Shirley paused in her rambling as her mind suddenly wandered to Area 11. It was once a country all its own, with its own people, beliefs, religions, utterly different from Britannia. She thought she lived a pretty good life there… but now that she thought about it, and saw up close the way Shay's people lived, she realized that the Elevens were mirror-images of them. Unless they enrolled as 'Honorary Britannians' like Suzaku, they couldn't live in the same area, join the military, go to the same schools, or even eat in the same restaurants! She felt ashamed that it never clicked in her head before, how 'less free' everyone else was compared to her and other Britannians.

She quickly shook her head to clear it, returning to Shay's focus, "But-but things are changing! Have you heard of Voltron before?

"A child's tale," Shay said dubiously, quirking an eyebrow.

"No, he's real!" Shirley exclaimed, "I'm actually one of the Paladins, and Voltron is going to defeat Zarkon."

"You are?" Shay asked, hope filling her voice.

"Stop filling this one's head with your shadow show!" Rax shouted, coming from the tunnel, glaring at Shirley, "The cavern is our home. This will never change. Come."

Shay reluctantly stood from the rock and followed her brother back inside.

Shirley stood there shocked. How could Rax be so unsupportive of all this?

"These people haven't known what 'freedom' is for many years, it's a new concept for them," C.C. said as if reading her mind, "And more often than not, people fear change. They fear the unknown."

This only made Shirley sadder. Sad at how willing the Balmerans were to accept their fate as slaves. Did the Ele-the Japanese who weren't fighting in rebellions have similar thoughts to Britannia?

She nearly burst into tears.

o~o

"Powering sub-panels," Haxus reported as he stood in front of the Central Energy Chamber's computer.

 _"Sub panel energy transducer is go."_ Sendak's voice intoned from the other side.

"Aye, sir. Opening pathway to link with Bridge. Initializing main cluster reboot."

Lelouch, Kallen, and Rover were crouched behind the doors, watching and listening to Haxus and Sendak's conversation.

"Okay, we found the other Galra, now what? Just walk right up to him and ask him to stop?" she questioned sarcastically.

To her shock, Lelouch smirked and _took off his helmet_ , "That's precisely what we're going to do."

Kallen watched in shock as Lelouch casually strolled up to the catwalk, wholly unarmed and making no move to draw a weapon. Gritting her teeth, she trailed slowly behind him.

Haxus, hearing the footsteps turned around to see the two of them approaching. Lelouch stopped about ten feet in front of him.

" _You're_ the ones causing all this trouble?! Children?!"

"Hey! We're not kids! We're Paladins of Voltron!" Kallen declared, whipping out her bayard. She was shocked though when Lelouch held out his arm, preventing her from stepping further.

Haxus laughed mockingly, pulling out a blade, "Let me tell you something, children. I'm a soldier of the Galra Empire! Nothing stops me but triumph or death!"

Lelouch laughed and smirked evilly, his hand raising to his face, covering his left eyes, "Well then, how about a third option? Where you put away your weapon and tell us everything we want to know," his hand fell from his face, the Geass symbol flashing ominously. The sigil flew into Haxus's eye. A red ring within them, showing he was entrapped within Lelouch's command.

To Kallen's shock, Haxus _did_ put away his weapon, "As you wish, say on,"

"How much of the engine have you repaired already?" Lelouch asked first.

"I've repowered the sub-panels and was just beginning to initialize the reboot by connecting it to the bridge," the Galra answered monotonously.

"Can the engine and particle barrier be shut down from here?"

"The engine can, but the particle barrier's functions are elsewhere,"

"Very well, deactivate the engine then,"

Kallen's jaw seemed to descend further as Lelouch continued to question the Galra, and he was _answering without resistance!_ And now he was _willingly_ turning off the main turbine!

o~o

Meanwhile, on the bridge, Sendak's eyes widened as he saw the main engine powering down suddenly.

"Haxus! Haxus what are you doing?!" he shouted angrily into the computer. He slammed his robot fit into the ground when no response came.

From behind him, he heard the Green Paladin laugh, "It sounds like you're having some trouble up there! I think I can see you sweating!"

The commander growled at the hostage, which briefly silenced him.

o~o

"Where's Sendak?" Lelouch questioned next after Haxus finished.

"He's located on the Castle's main bridge. He's holding three of the Paladins prisoner."

"Is there anything else we should know about?"

"No," he intoned.

"Very well," Lelouch smirked, "then I command you: Die!"

Haxus drew his blade again, holding it to his own throat, "Vrepit Sa!" The blade cut cleanly through his jugular as he then tumbled backward over the edge of the walkway.

Kallen still stood in shock, trying to process what in the world she just watched happen while Lelouch stepped towards the edge and looked over it. He barely caught a glimpse of Haxus's corpse as it disappeared into the abyss.

"H-How did-"

"I'll explain everything later Kallen, I promise," Lelouch interrupted, "right now we need to focus on rescuing the others,"

Kallen nodded with a swallow. After witnessing what just happened, she saw Lelouch's head warp into a large helmet, with a shaded mask in the front. His paladin armor was replaced with a large black cape that swept around him like a bat ready to take flight. Even his posture was almost identical to Zero's.

" _Haxus, report in, now!"_ Sendak's voice rang out of the computer.

Kallen stepped in front of it, slamming her hands flat on the console, "Haxus is dead, and you're next!"

 _"You've slowed me down,"_ the commander snarled, " _but this ship is mine! You will turn yourselves over to me immediately!"_

"Or else what?!" she spat. Lelouch's face soon fell into a scowl. Kallen _shouldn't_ have said that!

" _Your fellow Paladins can explain,"_ Sendak sneered.

" _What do you want?!"_ Milly's frightened voice came through.

" _Your friends wanted to hear from you,"_

" _No don't-"_ Rai's voice was cut off when Milly screamed, and electrical sounds echoed through the computer.

" _Leave her a-"_ Rai's scream soon followed.

"You bastard!" Lelouch seethed, though he wasn't surprised that Sendak played this move. That didn't do anything to dampen his rage though.

"You can make it stop. Turn yourselves in. Their suffering is in your hands,"

Lelouch scowled before speaking, "Will their safety be guaranteed if we do so?"

"Yes. Turn yourself over at the bridge, I'll be waiting," Sendak said before the line was cut off.

An angry sneer was on Lelouch's face he gracefully swept out of the room, Kallen following behind.

"You realize he's probably lying right?" Kallen said.

Lelouch laughed humorlessly, "Of course he is. I'm not stupid enough to fall for such an obvious ploy."

"So then… are you gonna do the same thing you did to Haxus?"

"That's the plan. The problem is that I must make direct eye contact for it to work. One of them is cybernetic as well, so I don't know if it will pose a problem or not, so I'll need you for back up."

Kallen nodded as they continued their determined walk to the bridge.

o~o

"Is your ship prepared that you may depart our presence?" Rax asked rudely as he, Shay and the Voltron trio stood around the fire.

"My, my, you seem desperate to have us leave this place," C.C. said crossing her arms.

"I am," Rax frowned.

"Well, the ship works, but we can't leave without that Crystal," Shirley said. She then looked at Coran, "Do you have any ideas on how to get it?"

"Actually, yes," the Altean grinned.

Shortly after, Shirley nearly lost her balance as the trio held themselves underneath a cloak, with a sentry head on top. The plan was for this sentry disguise to sneak them past the guards and take the crystal.

"This is worst plan in the history of plans," C.C. muttered. ' _And that's saying a lot coming from me!'_

"Shh! Legs don't talk!" Coran said as they approached the guards. Behind it was a large blue crystal nestled into the rock. C.C. and Shirley were both sharing the job of being the robot's legs while Coran was crouched on top of their shoulders, a sentry head sticking up on top.

"Oh, hello, gentlemen, shift's over. Boss needs you back at the guard shack." Coran said as he came up to the guards.

' _You could least try and_ sound _like one of those robots!' Shirley panicked._

"Verify identification code," the sentry ordered.

"Right. I didn't want to have to do this," Coran pulled one of the sentry's arms out from under the cloak, "but I'm going to have to pull rank. You guys are in big trouble, right? So, hand over those blasters and ID badges."

That didn't do anything to stop the sentries as they raised their guns and charged them up, "Verify identification code or be destroyed."

"Okay, okay. I've got it right... here!" Coran exclaimed as the trio lost their disguise, revealing Coran, Shirley, and C.C. The girls had been perched underneath, holding Coran up. Shirley quickly fired two quick shots from her bow hitting the sentries' heads, effectively destroying them.

Coran hopped down to the ground and approached the crystal almost reverently. He then placed both his hands on top of it. The Crystal and Coran's hands began to glow a bright blue.

"What are you doing?" Shirley asked urgently, "We need to hurry!"

Coran peaked his eyes open at the women, "I'm not just going to pry this out of here like some Galra monster," he exclaimed, "The Balmera is a sacred being. You have to communicate with it. Let your life forces connect. This is the way it was done in our time."

"Whoa!" Shirley gasped.

"You really know your Balmeras," C.C. smirked, folding her arms again.

The Balmera soon started to shake, and Coran stepped back as the crystal stopped glowing. The ground around it shifted away, exposing the crystal completely. Coran jumped forward and caught it before it could tip over, but he was struggling to lift it back up. Suddenly there was a large crack heard in his back. Eyes wide, the advisor turned his head mechanically in the girls' direction.

"...I think I'm broken…" he muttered in pain.

C.C. sighed, and Shirley massaged her forehead before they all froze, the sound of blasters charging behind them. Turning around, they saw at least a half dozen sentries behind them, guns aims and ready to fire.

"Augh... Okay, guys!" Coran said, turning around, trying to sound threatening despite the pain, "All right, I hate to do this. Blasters and badges. Come on. Give them up!"

The women only stared in disbelief as Coran suddenly tipped over, in too much pain to continue.

C.C. sighed again as she and Shirley both raised their hands in surrender, her face a look of annoyance while Shirley smiled and giggled nervously.

o~o

Sendak stood by the bridge doors, waiting for the Black and Red Paladins to finally surrender themselves. After that, he'd kill them and the others he currently had, fix the engines _himself_ and have the Castle, and the Lions delivered to Zarkon by day's end.

Rivalz still lay flat on the floor, unconscious while Rai and Milly were hunched forward on their knees, struggling just to keep their eyes open.

"I'm impressed that you managed to escape, Paladin," Sendak said, addressing Rai, "Perhaps it would be worth the trip to your planet to see if the rest of your kind have your spirit," unbeknownst to Sendak, Lelouch and Kallen were right behind the door, hiding on the sides with Rover close by. Lelouch sneered as Sendak made that comment. Over his dead body! "Of course, they will all end up broken, just like you. Now that we have Voltron, every planet, every race, all share the same fate."

"I'm going in," Lelouch whispered, "if my Geass, my ability, doesn't work, then you come in. Got it?"

Kallen nodded as Lelouch stepped out of the shadows. His helmet was off, and his hands were in the air. But a large smirk was plastered on his face.

o~o

Shirley, C.C., and Coran had all been moved to a holding cell deeper underground. The two women were sitting on the small benches as Coran paced anxiously.

"Quiznack! I can't believe they saw through our disguise!" he ranted.

"I do," C.C. quipped.

Shirley, meanwhile, was staring at the floor of the cell, breathing heavily, struggling to hold back tears. Coran noticed this and kneeled by her.

"It's alright number five, we'll get out of this!" he tried his best of sound cheerful, even though he was inwardly panicking as well.

"I know but…" she bit her lip, "I-I just can't believe how so many people are suffering like this! It isn't right! How could someone do anything like this?"

Coran felt sympathy for the Earthling. He thought similarly when Zarkon turned on Altea. He was once a great warrior and friend. Then overnight he completely changed, conquering their solar system and any other planets that stood in his way. He honestly was shocked to see how far his conquest had gone 10,000 years later.

"I know it's difficult to see, and you're very courageous to be fighting like this. But that's what Voltron is for. To bring hope to the universe. To prove to them that this doesn't have to be the end."

"Yeah," Shirley bitterly said, "but I don't see us doing much locked up down here."

Shirley suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking up, C.C. was looking at her intensely, "If you had the power to change things, would you use it then?"

The Orange Paladin blinked in confusion, "What do you mean?"

C.C. took her hand.

Shirley gasped as she was suddenly in a completely different place. A black void with tendrils of energy shooting off in various directions, coming off of her!

" _Like I said,"_ C.C.'s voice echoed in her mind, " _If you had the power to change things, would you?_

Shirley face suddenly seemed to warp in and out of reality, her surroundings turning into a large tunnel of color.

" _A reason to live on."_

Suddenly, C.C.'s body flashed in her vision as well, distorted just like her own.

" _I propose a deal Shirley Fenette. In exchange for this power, you must be able to fulfill a wish of my own choosing,"_

Shirley saw what appeared to be two planets, orbiting very closely together, a bright light appearing between them.

" _Accept this contract, and you accept its conditions. While living within this reality, you will live, unlike any other being. A different providence, a different time, a different life."_

Her surroundings were soon clustered with white feathers, and several more images flashed before her. She saw a ruin, then several people in olden-time clothing with strange red marks on their foreheads, the night sky with mars glimmering in the distance.

" _The Power of the King will condemn you to a life of solitude. Are you prepared for this?"_

Shirley felt a new connection being made, one alongside the one she had with her lion. All she needed to do to complete was reach out and take it — a new power blooming within her chest.

" _Yes,"_ she replied, " _I accept the terms of this contract!"_

C.C. had just let go of Shirley's hand, and she felt a pulse within her left eye. Coran sat there dumbfounded, wondering what in the world just happened. He wasn't able to express his concern though as they heard footsteps approach. Looking up, Shirley with her right eye that wasn't covered, the trio say none other than Shay approaching them, carrying a sentry's arm.

"Shay?!" Shirley said in astonishment. The Balmera didn't say anything as she held the hand up to the scanner. Upon accepting the sentry's handprint, the cell door opened.

"Make haste to your pod. The Crystal is prepared for departure," she informed them.

"How did you get the crystal?" Coran asked, shocked.

"I was assigned to take it to the upper levels, but instead I took it down. Soon, they will discover my ruse. Time is short."

Before they could leave, Shirley stopped her by grabbing Shay's arm, "Why are you helping us? You could get in trouble!"

"Because your words touched my heart," Shay said, "I wish for freedom for all Balmera. Perhaps your Voltron can make it so."

Shirley looked at the Balmeran shocked. She didn't think her words had had _that_ much of an effect. But she could see how brave Shay was being by doing this. With a determined gaze, she nodded. Unknowingly to her, her left eye flashed red, with a familiar symbol in the center.

Shay led them through the tunnels back to the pod, but just as they turned the corner where the pod was, an unexpected surprise awaited them. A dozen Galra sentries and Rax were standing in front of them, blocking the way.

"No! Rax, why?!" Shay cried out in betrayal.

"These three bring only trouble to our family. It was the only way to protect you," he replied.

Some of the sentries leveled their weapons at the group. Instinctively, Shirley jumped in front of them, her back pressed to them.

"NO!" Suddenly, it felt like energy had jumped from her eye, creating a large transparent dome around the four of them. The Orange Paladin braced for the shots… that didn't come.

"What?!"

"Where'd they go?!"

"They're gone!" several sentries exclaimed, looking around confused. Even Rax, who had shifted behind them blinked in dumb confusion.

Even the group themselves were confused. What did they mean they couldn't see them?

"What-what's going on?" Shirley asked, scared and confused, looking wildly at the other three.

Coran gasped, "Number five, what's going on with your left eye?"

"Huh?" she gasped, hand hovering over her left eye. She didn't have a mirror, so she couldn't understand what Coran was talking about.

"Interesting…" C.C. observed. The other three looked at the immortal, "It seems your new power makes yourself, and those in your vicinity, invisible to your enemies."

"We're invisible?" Shirley asked, looking down at herself. She seemed pretty visible to herself.

"Is this some sort trick?" one of the sentries suddenly shouted, turning and pointing his gun at Rax. The male Balmeran stepped back in fear, holding his hands out defensively.

"You're working with them aren't you?"

"No, I-"

"Rax!" Shay shouted, kneeling on the ground and planting her hand on the surface. It glowed bright blue. A moan filled the air as the walls began to shift and the ceiling collapsed. Boulders landed on top of the sentries, crushing several of them and saving Rax. Taking this moment of chaotic confusion to their advantage, the four quickly ran towards the pod.

Now that her Geass had worn off and they'd stepped outside the dome, the sentries that survived spotted them and started to shoot at them. One nearly hit Shay, and Shirley jumped in front of her, shield active to block some more of them.

One of the sentries though had a different weapon. It wasn't a blaster, but some sort of grappling hook. It aimed at Shay and fired, causing the purple rope to wrap around her, tripping and trapping her.

"Shay!" Shirley screamed as she watched her new friend being dragged back to the sentries.

"Go! Make haste!" Shay yelled.

"Let her go!" Shirley demanded, pulling out her bow.

"No Shirley! We have to go!" Coran yelled before the Paladin could fire. With tears in her eyes, Shirley looked between her fallen friend and the pod. At the cave opening, they saw that more sentries were marching in. Soon they would be surrounded and captured again. A Galra fighter also had positioned itself outside.

Finally, she turned and jumped into the pod as well. "We'll come back for you Shay! We promise!" The pod windows closed tight, and Coran propelled them as fast as he could out of a side entrance of the cave, crystal secured in the back with C.C.

"If we can't shake these patrols, we might be back here sooner than we want!" Coran exclaimed as they skidded beneath the Galra fighter and up through the shaft. The ship hadn't come alone though. There were three more waiting for them as they continued upwards.

o~o

Meanwhile, back at the Castle, the final remaining sentry was patrolling the hall, in case the Black and Red Paladin decided to come back.

However, he wasn't expecting an entirely different kind of intruder to get the better of him.

The four Space Mice looked down of the ledge of an air duct they just crawled out of. Platt squeaked at his siblings before he jumped down from above, Chuchule not far behind. He landed flat on the sentries head, surprising him enough that he punched himself in the face to try and get him off. Chuchule landed on his arm, the one that was holding the gun, before biting down on his finger. This one happened to be holding the gun trigger. The sentry ended up shooting itself in the foot before it lost balance and tumbled over the edge. It met its end with a loud boom.

Plachu and Chulatt quickly joined their brother and sister on the floor, and the quartet scrambled up to the control board. Platt then lifted his paw and pressed down on the large round button in the center.

o~o

Outside, Allura and Suzaku were overjoyed to see the particle barrier finally lower.

"It worked!" Suzaku exclaimed.

"They did it!" Allura agreed.

Not wasting another second, the pair rushed into the Castle to reclaim it as rightfully theirs.

o~o

Lelouch was still standing in the middle of the doorway, his hands casually raised above his head, a smirk plastered on his face.

"Where's the Red Paladin?" Sendak growled.

"She's on her way, I ran ahead of her," Lelouch said with a shrug.

"Hmph, smiling at your demise, are you boy?"

"No," the Black Paladin chuckled, "I'm smiling at yours actually. Let me ask you something, Sendak. Are there any Galra out there that detest their own empire? If so, how exactly would they live their lives?"

Sendak sneered but answered him anyway. He might as well humor him, "They would spend what little remains of their lives in fear of the moment where I would inevitably find them. And when that happens, they'll be begging for death when I'm done with them!"

Sendak would've charged Lelouch right there, but something stopped him. He scowled. There was something strange about this Paladin. It was how he held himself, the pure confidence and pride in the aura around him. It reminded him of the way many elite Galra commanders and generals held themselves. Why it was the way _he_ carried himself when on his command ship… no, it was more than that. He'd probably go as far to say it was more similar to Emperor Zarkon himself.

Lelouch smirked deviously at the Galra's hesitance, "What's wrong? Why not kill me? Your opponent is just a child. At least that's what Haxus thought before he died."

Kallen wasn't the only one shocked and nervous about the tone Lelouch was using. Milly and Rai, who were moments ago terrified for their friend and fellow Paladin, were now looking at him in surprise. What the quiznack was Lelouch _doing?_

"Or perhaps you realize, that the only ones who should kill, are those who are prepared to _be_ killed."

Sendak smirked evilly, "I couldn't agree more. Victory or death is the way of the Galra!"

"Very well then," Lelouch said, lowering his hands, one landing above his left I, "I command you… Die!"

Lelouch's hand flew from his face as his Geass glowed. The bird-like symbol flew into the commander's eyes. For a moment his one real eye glowed red, but he then fell to the floor, clutching his head. Lelouch blinked and took a step back as well. He certainly wasn't expecting this outcome.

Sendak's cybernetic eye suddenly glowed purple, the red light vanishing from his real eye. Rai and Milly watched on in shock at this turn of events. The commander then unsteadily got back to his feet and smirked at Lelouch.

"So you paid a visit to the Druids as well," he smirked. Lelouch stepped back again, though not entirely out of surprise. He had a feeling his Geass wouldn't wholly work this time. But who were these 'Druid' people Sendak was talking about?

Sendak charged up his arm to attack, taking advantage of Lelouch's surprise, "Pity a waste of great potential!" His arm crashed down and would've hit Lelouch had he not leaped backward in time.

"Kallen now!" he shouted. The Red Paladin in question dashed out of the shadows and took a flying leap at the Galra, bayard claws splayed out. Caught by surprise, Sendak didn't manage to knock Kallen away before the gauntlet enclosed around the side of his face. The 'eye' in the middle of the glove opened, and massive heat waves emanating from it.

Sendak howled in pain before he finally managed to bat Kallen off of him. Despite this though, the bayard already did a number on the Galra, half of his face burned, and his cybernetic eye having been melted off.

He charged at them in a rage again just as Suzaku and Allura entered the room.

Instinctively as Sendak came at him, Lelouch raised his hands, and the same red lightning from the first time shot out of his palm, hitting Sendak directly in the chest.

' _I see,'_ said Lelouch as he stood by the hostages, ' _I get it now. I can only do that when my Geass is active!'_

Kallen took advantage of Sendak's fallen state to charge him again, but he recovered fast enough to bat her away. Suzaku charged head on, swinging his katana expertly. As he slid under one of Sendak's gauntlet attacks, a bolt of blue, fired from the right and hit the purple energy connecting it to his shoulder socket.

"No!" Sendak snarled. He turned his furious gaze to the hostages, which was where the shot came from. Rivalz was propped up against one of the bridges ledges, having barely regained consciousness and had used his rifle bayard to shoot out the connection. He grinned in victory just as he collapsed from exhaustion again.

As Sendak charged them, Milly and Rai together got to their feet, and body slammed into him. Despite losing his arm though, the commander was still strong and threw them both away one at a time.

Allura took Sendak's distraction to her advantage and rushed to the main computer, punching in a few codes. The three still able-bodied Paladins, Milly and Rai knocked unconscious again, helped to keep the Galra back and distracted.

At one point Lelouch managed to sidestep behind Sendak and punch him in the back. His Geass was still on, so he ended up electrocuting the Galra from behind. Sendak howled in rage and pain. Suzaku then attempted to swing his sword towards him, but Sendak managed to ignore the pain enough to grab the blade before it hit. The Galra and Paladin were locked in a battle of strength as they struggled against the weapon.

"Everyone, now!" Allura called out suddenly. Lelouch quickly jumped out of the way, and Suzaku quickly released his bayard, which Sendak tossed to the side. But he was too late to block the giant, swinging kick, that Suzaku delivered spectacularly to his skull. It tumbled the Galra backward, landing against the purple crystal. One second later, the barrier surrounding the central deck shot up, effectively locking Sendak inside. The Galra got up and attempted to punch the wall down, but it was no use. He was trapped.

"Checkmate," Lelouch breathed heavily.

With Sendak successfully detained, the group quickly got to work freeing the others. Kallen slashed through Rai's restraints with her claw, and the moment he was free, Rai grabbed his own bayard to free Milly.

Rivalz was also regaining consciousness as Suzaku knelt next to him.

"You okay Rivalz?" he asked as he helped him sit up.

"We did it," the Blue Paladin huffed out an exhausted laugh, and smiled graciously at Suzaku "We make a good team,"

"Yeah," Suzaku agreed with a nod, "we do."

o~o

Coran, C.C., and Shirley were still struggling to escape from the Balmera's mine shaft. Lasers were being fired at them from everywhere.

"We can't shake them!" Coran said in a panic, "We're not going to make it!"

Shirley looked at how much farther their escape path was. They would need a significant boost to get them out of the way of the ships. She looked desperately down at the console, her hand hovering over the extra booster button. It was their only chance.

"Uh, it may turn us into a giant fireball," Coran warned her.

"Maybe, but it's the best chance we've got! And we're going to die either way!"

Coran and Shirley looked ahead. More Galra cruisers were descending the shaft, trying to close in on them. Shirley was right; it was their only option.

"Fine. Fire in the hole!" Coran shouted as pressed down on the button.

Whatever Rai had attached to it was indeed only a prototype, as the force from it was strong enough to press Shirley back against the seat. C.C. in the back would've slammed against the side wall had she not had the foresight to brace herself. She made a mental note to have the Green Paladin add a few seat belts back her for future preference.

However, the booster did its job, and shot the pod directly out of the shaft and into the Balmera's atmosphere, a giant fireball trailing behind them from the Galra ships that crashed into each other, trying to pursue them.

Coran cheered in triumph as they zoomed off back into the stars.

"We did it!" Shirley breathed, slumping against the seat.

"Number five, you were quiznacking brilliant back there!" Coran suddenly cheered excitedly, "Why didn't you mention you could turn invisible before?! Oh, the possibilities! I must inform the Princess immediately of this!"

Shirley laughed a little as Coran continued to rant excitedly about Shirley's new power. She looked at the slight reflection of the metal the pod offered, looking at the new symbol decorating her iris and pupil. It looked like a crane ready to take flight. She'd been given the power she needed to help these people, and she swore she would make good on her promise to Shay. She and the team would return and rescue her. Her _and_ her family!

Something then clicked in Shirley's memory. A few days ago, C.C. had called Lulu and 'contractor' as well… is this how he knew her? How long ago did he meet her?

o~o

The trio arrived back at the Castle without further incident, and the Alteans wasted no time installing the new Crystal as they were filled in on what happened on both ends. The Castle's blue lights soon returned, and Sendak was detained in a holding cell in the Castle. They decided the Galra Crystal would be moved to the Green Lion's bay as Rai said he wanted to examine it. The moment the healing pods were back up and running they wasted no time helping Rivalz into a cryo-suit and setting him inside. Soon he fell into a peaceful, healing sleep.

"After a day in here, he should be fully healed," Allura reassured them all.

"That's a relief," Milly sighed. She and Rai had been offered to go in the cryo pods as well when they mentioned their fight and torture from Sendak, but they reassured them that it wasn't anything serious, they just felt a little sore.

"Lelouch, Kallen," Rai said, "thank you for everything you did. You saved us."

"Yeah," Suzaku nodded, "I personally feel like you should stay. Be a part of the team... but I understand if you want to leave. Especially you Lelouch," He really did. He knew how much Lelouch loved Nunnally and probably missed her too.

Lelouch smiled, however, "King Alfor told me about how close he was with the past Paladins," this statement took a surprised gasp from Allura, "He said they were like his family. I think I now know what he was talking about."

"You spoke with my father?" Allura asked.

"Yes. I wanted to get his opinion on the situation. And now I understand," he smirked, "So if you're willing to forgive me, I think I'll stick around. You Kallen?"

The red-head in question smirked, "No duh! These guys would be helpless without us!" This caused the rest of the group to laugh good-heartedly.

"Let's stop Zarkon, for _all_ our families," Lelouch said in finality.

"It's good to have back," Suzaku smiled before pulling them all into a group hug.

Lelouch knew this wasn't over though. He remembered the vow he made during the battle. If he was to trust his team, and they trust him, they needed to know the truth about him. Once Rivalz woke up, he would tell them everything: about Geass, his heritage… and even about Zero…

o~o

She replayed the video for the sixth time. The seven faces flashing on the screen.

"There's no question... it's _him_." the knight said, biting her thumbnail. Her gaze was fixed on the platnium blonde's face.

"Prince Zephyr..."

She tightened her green ponytail, and gripped her sword on her belt.

"If you're truly alive, I'll find you," she said, marching to the Emperor's throne room. If she could convince him to send her to Area 11, she could use all the resources there to find him. And his sister.

Nonette Ennegram swore it upon her title as Knight of Nine...

o~o

 **AN: So a new chapter so soon?! Well, let's just say I had some free time on my hands so... yeah.**

 **So Shirley now holds a Geass power of her own. It's name is Absolute Concealment! Thought it was pretty cool!**

 **Also, I just wanted to make something clear so there's no confusion, Shay and Shirley are FRIENDS! Not a couple like with Hunk and Shay. Just wanted to make that clear to everyone for the future! Thanks!**

 **Next chapter... stay tuned ;)**


	11. Chapter 11: Confessions and Revelations

Chapter 11: Confessions and Revelations

The twenty-four hours (vargas?) that Rivalz needed in the pod came and went. The whole team, now in regular clothing, was gathered around, anxiously waiting for him to come out.

"I can't tell if looks healthy… or not," Shirley said.

"I think he's breathing weird," Rai observed.

"Oh, come on!" Kallen exclaimed about to open the pod herself.

"Not yet!" Allura batted Kallen's hand away, "A few more ticks."

"How much better do you think he's gonna get in a few more _ticks?"_ Kallen argued.

"What exactly _is_ a tick anyway?" Milly asked.

"You know, a time-slice," Allura said as if expecting it to be obvious.

"What, like a second?" Lelouch asked.

"What is a… 'second'?" Allura asked intrigued.

Rai pulled a device out of his pocket, looking like an advanced stopwatch, "Like this," the watch started counting up in Earth's time.

"I'm not sure," Allura said after listening to a few of them, "I think ticks are bigger. Coran," she asked the advisor, who was at the central control monitoring Rivalz's condition, "do you have a ticker?"

"Right here, Princess," he said, holding up his device. It ticked slowly around a circular direction.

"I think ticks are a little slower," Suzaku said, squinting at the ticker.

Rai furrowed his eyebrows, looking between the two, "I can't tell. We have to start them at the same time."

"Okay," agreed the advisor, restarting his, "Ready, go!" The two held the timers out in front of them. At first, it seemed they were evenly matched, but each click from the Earth timer soon made it jump ahead of the ticker timer.

Everyone gathered around, so engrossed in this competition that no one noticed that Rivalz's pod opened, and the Blue Paladin in question had stumbled out.

"Yes! I think we're winning!" Milly cheered.

"Winning what?" C.C. raised an eyebrow, "The intergalactic time-measuring competition?"

"Um, yes!" Milly said as if it was apparent.

Rivalz soon was able to stumble over on his own towards the group, eyes still droopy, "You guys having a clock party?"

"Aw, Rivalz, you just ruined it. Uh-Hey, Rivalz!" Milly shrieked, before pulling him into a bear hug, lifting him off the ground.

Under normal circumstances, Rivalz would have blushed, but he still felt half asleep after coming out of the pod. He blinked his eyes to stay awake as he was lowered back down. "What happened?"

Allura placed a hand on his back, "We can tell you all about it while you get something to eat. Are you able to walk?"

"Talking? Eating? Are you asking out on a date or something?" Rivalz asked, only hearing half of what was said with his foggy brain.

While Allura looked a little annoyed, the rest of the group shared some snickers. They were all happy that their friend was alive and healthy again though.

o~o

Rivalz honestly thought the food goo in front of him was the most delicious thing he'd ever eaten at the moment. He was through with almost the entire plate when Platt scampered in front of him, loopy-looping around before sitting impatiently in front of the bowl, begging for a bite. Smiling, the Blue Paladin scooped a clump up and held it out to the mouse, who nibbled at it almost greedily.

"You'd be Sendak's prisoner right now, if not for Kallen and Lelouch," Allura said.

"Well, you wouldn't have survived the explosion if Shirley, C.C., and Coran hadn't gotten a new Crystal," Kallen added.

"Wow. Thanks, everybody. It sounds like the mice did more than you, though," Rivalz said, and the mice straightened in pride at the praise, smirks on their little faces.

"Hey! I punched Sendak!" Suzaku protested.

"Yeah!" Rivalz laughed, "Apparently after I emerged from a coma and shot his arm off."

"We had a bonding moment! I cradled you in my arms!" the Honorary Britannian exclaimed, throwing his arms up.

"Nope!" Rivalz shook his head, "Don't remember! Didn't happen! So, anyway, what happened to Sendak?"

"He's frozen in a cryo-pod. We're keeping him here in the Castle," Allura answered.

"...Is that really a good idea?" Rivalz asked.

"He's too dangerous to be set free. Besides, we might be able to get some information about Zarkon from him."

"That's the plan anyway… if he'll even talk," Lelouch said with a frown.

"So… what's the plan _now?"_ the Blue Paladin inquired.

"We have to get back to the Balmera and save Shay and her people," Shirley declared with a determined frown.

"Made a new friend have we?" Milly asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Prez, you _know_ it's not like that!" Shirley scowled with a small blush, "Look, guys, when you see how Zarkon has treated these people and destroyed their home—They've been under his thumb for so long, they don't even know what it is to be free. It's up to us to set this right. _This_ is what being a Paladin of Voltron is all about."

 _'Not much different from how_ we _treat other countries…'_ Shirley regrettably added silently.

"Let's get going then!" Rai cried, "Time to go defend the universe!"

"Wait," Lelouch said, standing up, "before we do anything else, I have something to say first. A confession. A few of them actually, and I might not get another chance like this. Some of them might change the way that you all think of me as well."

Lelouch now had the full, rapt attention of everyone in the room. The ex-prince took a deep breath. Now or never.

"First, what I'm about to say must not exit this Castle by any means. Is that clear?"

Milly quickly caught on to what he was implying and was about to protest before Lelouch silenced her with a stern glare.

"No, Milly, if we're going to be doing this, they have a right to know."

Milly looked like she still wanted to protest but ultimately stepped back with a sigh before crossing her arms.

"Before that though, I owe all of you an explanation. About why I wanted to go back to Earth."

"You said it was because of Nunnally, right?" Shirley asked, confused.

"Yes, but that's only part of the reason. You see, I'm apart of something back on Earth. A special group of people that I have responsibility for… The Black Knights."

There was shocked silence within the room. Suzaku's eyes widened into saucers along with Rivalz and Shirley's. Kallen's arms dropped to her sides in shock.

"Y-You're apart of the Black Knight?!" Suzaku exclaimed, "Why?!"

Suddenly, Rivalz and Milly started laughing!

"Oh! Good one Lelouch! You? In the Black Knights?" the Blue Paladin giggled hysterically, "That's a real knee slapper right there! Haha!"

"Man and here I didn't think you even had a sense of humor!" Milly guffawed, "You had me worried there for a second!"

It took the two of them five seconds to register that Lelouch wasn't laughing with them, or the offended and enraged l look on Kallen's face.

"Wha-What wait you're serious?!" Rivalz asked, shocked as his hands also fell to his sides.

"Oh… my…" Milly muttered, realizing just how real this was.

"I'm not just apart of them," Lelouch said, sighing before taking a deep breath, "...I'm their leader. I'm Zero."

There was silence for a solid twenty seconds in the room. The only ones who didn't look in shock were the two Alteans, who looked mildly confused at the situation. Even C.C.'s eyes widened at Lelouch's revelation, quite baffled that Lelouch told them.

"Y-yo-Lelouch, please tell me that's a lie! It can't be true!" Suzaku begged.

"You've known me since childhood Suzaku," Lelouch frowns, "why on Earth would I lie about something like-"

The Black Paladin was cut short when he was nearly bowled over by Shirley, who had thrown herself forward and engulfed him in a hug.

"It was you then," she whispered, "you were the one that saved Milly, Nina, and I at the hotel!"

"Um…" Lelouch blushed, embarrassed, "Yes, that _was_ me,"

"...Now that I think about it," Suzaku suddenly said, causing Shirley to let go and back away, "I can't believe I didn't suspect you even once Lelouch. But…"

 _"I swear Suzaku, so help me. I will one day, obliterate Britannia!"_

"...To think that you went through with it?! Don't you realize how many people you're endangering just to achieve this selfish goal of yours?! Your methods aren't going to change anything!"

"Endangering people?! Suzaku, did you not hear the goal of the Black Knights? Our mission is to defend the weak; those who can't do it for themselves!"

"The police force can do that just fine too! There are plenty of ways to work within the system for it! If you, Zero, continue this way, how many others will die in the process?! A goal is worth nothing if the means of achieving it are wrong! Rebellion isn't the way to defeat them!"

Lelouch froze, before throwing his head back and laughed almost hysterically.

"What's so funny?!" Suzaku spat in disgust. The rest of the room, the Alteans especially, were watching this play out like a tennis match, heads shooting from one side to the other.

"What's so _funny?!"_ Lelouch gasped, "What's funny is that you're spouting out nonsense and degrading rebellions when you're practically participating in one right this very moment!"

Now it was Suzaku's turn to freeze, his eyes widening in shock.

"Don't give me look Suzaku, you know it's true! Voltron is rebelling against the Galra. We're the only known force at this moment that has any hope of defeating them! We're 'Defenders of the Universe,' ones that are destined to defeat Zarkon and the Galra. Tell me, how are mine and the Black Knight's vision and goal any different for Japan and the rest of the world?!"

Suzaku clenched his fists and looked like he was about to make a comeback statement when Shirley interrupted, "He has a point Suzaku…"

"Wha-Shirley, what are you saying?!"

"Well-it's just-Lulu is right! We're doing the same thing as the Black Knights right now. We're a rebellion. If you think it's so wrong… are you saying we just hand Voltron over to Zarkon and surrender?"

"We-well no but-!"

"If we do that Suzaku, people will just keep suffering!" Shirley interrupted, "When I was on the Balmera and talking to Shay she didn't even know what the word 'free' _meant!_ The Galra have been there for so long; they don't see any other future for them! Just slaves living in those mines. She hasn't even seen what the sky looks like! They're all kept in those mines and if they don't obey they're taken from their family, and who knows what happens to them?!"

'Sounds familiar,' thought Kallen. Upon the revelation of Zero's identity, a plethora of feelings and thoughts raced through the Red Paladin's head. There was confusion as to why a Britannian of all people was fighting for Japan. Anger and rage for his deception. But also… acceptance, and even a little peace. The fact that Lelouch trusted them enough to reveal himself to them. Not to mention the way he acted when Sendak still had the Castle. He was utterly focused on saving the others. So Lelouch indeed wasn't being selfish on those terms, and because of that, she was at least willing to hear Lelouch out on his reasons.

"Suzaku… I want you to be honest with me, please," Shirley said turning to the Purple Paladin, "...the Ele-the _Japanese,_ the ones still living in the ghetto. Is it the same for them?"

"YES!" Kallen exclaimed before Suzaku could even open his mouth, "That's EXACTLY what it's like for them! In Shinjuku, the military slaughtered everyone, even those not involved with the terrorism happening. Men, women, _and_ children, all of them!"

"Wait, hold on a moment! What is this all about?!" Allura suddenly exclaimed. All of the Paladins turned to the Alteans, who they realized probably had no idea what they were even talking about.

"Apologies Princess," Lelouch said, "Can I assume that you two don't understand what we are talking about?"

"No, I'm afraid not," Coran admitted, "but, are you saying that this is happening on your home planet?"

"Yes, it is. It's why I was so eager to return there. We're in the middle of what you may call… a planetary conflict."

"I'm afraid I still don't follow…" Allura confessed, feeling embarrassed for sounding naive.

C.C. suddenly stepped in, and everyone saw that she had one of the mind meld machines on. A screen appeared in front of her, showing Earth's world map, "Currently, our planet Earth is separated into three major superpowers. They are the Chinese Federation," China and it's allying nations lit up in red, "the European Union, or the EU," these nations appeared in green, "and the Holy Britannian Empire which is where a majority of us are from," the rest of the map lit up in blue. "Each group is fighting and negotiating for territory and resources," the colors started shifting back and forth along the differing lands, though the blue area seemed to continue to expand, "From what we've heard of your planet, Altea, it seems that your planet has reached a unity under one centralized government. Our planet has yet to make it that far."

Allura just nodded, though inwardly she was quite surprised how primitive Earth was compared to other planets.

"As you can see, the Britannian Empire currently holds the majority of that territory," Lelouch continued, "and they're still pushing forward, taking more and more countries into the fold, whether it's willingly or not."

"I suppose I am still struggling to understand why you've turned against your country," Allura tried to explain. Never in a million years would she think to betray her people.

"Because," Lelouch seethed, "Britannia is no different from the Galra!"

Coran and Allura both looked taken aback. Could this be true?

"As I mentioned before, Britannia, even as we speak, is continually conquering more and more territory. They crush any all who they see as 'weak.' Are either of you aware of the term 'Social Darwinism'?"

"I don't believe so, no," Coran said, holding his chin in intrigue.

"To put it simply," Kallen said, "Social Darwinism is the belief that all living things are subject to the natural selection of nature. Basically 'strong survive and the weak die.'"

"That's very similar to what the Galra believe," Allura observed with a look of disgust on her face.

"Precisely!" Lelouch said, "What Britannia does is no different. They invade other countries, take what they want, and because the country 'lost,'" he made quotation marks with his hands, "to them, they strip the nation of their freedom, rights, and even name. All countries that come into the Empire are replaced with just a number. All the previous citizens of that country suffer the same fate."

"Now hold on!" Suzaku protested, "That's not completely true! If they become Honorary Britannians, they can live in the settlement as well!"

"Oh, so now you're saying they need to earn their rights back?" Kallen shot back, "Rights that never should've been taken from them in the first place?!"

"It's better than resorting to violence!"

"So are you saying that our home, Altea, should have simply surrendered the Galra? Even if we did that they would've destroyed Altea anyway!" Allura said.

"No! Princess, you have a right to be angry. I get it! But Britannia didn't destroy Japan-"

"They sure as hell did!" Kallen practically screamed, "The people, the _Elevens,"_ she emphasized furiously, "they have nothing now! Last I checked the Britannians don't even see them as human beings!"

Suzaku stuttered, wracking his brain to come up with a defense when Lelouch spoke again.

"What floors me the most Suzaku is that you're even considering defending that nation when they, themselves, tried to murder you in cold blood!"

"Wh-what are you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about! They falsely blamed you for Prince Clovis's murder, even though you had an obvious alibi! They didn't bother to launch a real investigation; they just threw all the blame on you because you happened to be the same area!"

"These people would do that?!" an astounded Allura demanded. She was starting to understand why Lelouch hated these people. She was appalled. If her Father had heard that an Altean had done this, he would've charged them with treason and conspiracy immediately.

"Yes, there was zero evidence against him. A sect within the military, known as the Purebloods, decided to use the Viceroy's, similar to a Regent's status," he quickly informed the Alteans, "death to accuse Suzaku of it. And if he was found guilty, what do you think would have happened? An Honorary Britannian, the son of the late Prime Minister, is found guilty of the murder of Viceroy Clovis. Please, humor me."

There was silence for about twenty seconds before Rai's head shot up in horror, "No…"

"That's correct. The Pureblood's ultimate goal is to abolish the Honorary Britannian system. And they would've used that incident to begin that process. If Suzaku were found guilty, I wouldn't've been surprised if the entire system was toppled overnight. That means that all numbers, _not_ just Japanese, would've had their rights stripped from them all over again, forced to return to the ghetto like lambs to slaughter."

"But that didn't end up happening obviously," Milly said, "Suzaku was found innocent."

"Yeah, it was after Zero showed up and…" Rivalz trailed off before looking at Lelouch again.

"Wait," Suzaku said, realizing the same thing, "then that means-you killed Prince Clovis!"

"Yes, you're right Suzaku, I did kill Clovis la Britannia," Lelouch sneered, "after he gave the order to slaughter hundreds of innocents in Shinjuku ghetto! They were your own people Suzaku; most had nothing to do with the terrorists that were around the area!"

"Wait, Prince Clovis _ordered_ that?!" Shirley asked, horror in her tone, "But the news said it was poison gas that terrorists had stolen!"

"That was a lie," C.C. said, surprisingly calm, "it wasn't poison gas that the terrorists stole. It was me."

"C.C.-"

"We might as well tell them, Lelouch. I'm stuck here just as much as the rest of you are," the immortal rationalized, "and to answer all of you as to why I was inside that capsule, your precious Clovis la Britannia was running illegal human experiments on me," most of the room's occupants made noises of shock and disbelief, "and when the terrorists got a hold of me, he feared if anyone outside his inner circle discovered what he was doing and it went public, he would be disowned by the royal family. So to cover his tracks he ordered the massacre. That's also where I first met Lelouch."

"I had fallen into one of the vehicles that the terrorists were using to transport C.C. I also ran into Suzaku who was already a soldier. We both saw the canister open with C.C. inside."

Despite all of the firm, furious emotions within him, Suzaku couldn't deny this as he nodded in confirmation. No one noticed that Kallen had made a slightly disturbed and guilty face at the mention of the vehicle.

"With a little of his help," Lelouch decided to leave out the part that the captain shot Suzaku as he had already dragged Britannia's reputation through the dirt enough, "C.C. and I made a run for it but were eventually cornered by some of the royal guards. They were going shoot me; they thought I was a fellow terrorist despite it being obvious I was a Britannian student," Coran's eyes widened at that before grimacing in disgust. They even would kill one of their own?! "C.C. then leaped in front of me, and took a headshot in my place."

"A headshot?!" Rai exclaimed, most of the others having similar reactions.

"That's impossible!/You should be dead then!/Are you sure it was a headshot?!"

"Not many alien species can survive a wound to the head like that, but as far as I tell Miss, you seem very human…" Coran observed, "...unless-"

"I'm/-you're immortal," the two of them said together.

Everyone was shocked into silence again. None of them made a move to question whether or not C.C. was making it up or not. Plus, after everything that's happened so far, nothing really surprised them anymore.

"Wait, if you're really immortal, how old _are_ you?" Milly asked leaning forward.

C.C. shrugged, "You tell me; I stopped counting about a century ago."

"When I thought C.C. was dead, she suddenly grabbed onto my arm and… well, I'm not one hundred percent sure what exactly happened. I saw a bunch of images," Shirley gasped a little, "and when it was all over, I felt different. I realized that C.C. had given me something. A power known as Geass. The ability to compel anyone to do what I want."

"Wait! So that's what happened with Haxus. You just looked at him, and whatever you asked him he answered," Kallen said.

Lelouch nodded as C.C. continued, "Lelouch and I formed a contract. I would give him the power of Geass, the Power of the King, and in exchange, he must grant me a single wish of my choosing."

"What kind of a wish?" Rivalz curiously.

C.C. shrugged, "Don't know, haven't thought of one yet."

"Wait! That's what you said to me on the Balmera. _We_ formed a contract too!" Shirley said.

"You made a contract with Shirley?" Lelouch asked, quite surprised.

"Don't act too shocked; I can decide who I form contracts with or not," C.C. said.

"So… you can control people now too?" Rivalz asked.

"No," C.C. said as Shirley shook her head, "Geass manifests differently from person to person. It usually depends and is based on strong personal desires. It can be anything from mind control to mind reading to even rewriting the memories of another person."

"So then… what _can_ you do Shirley?"

"Perhaps seeing these abilities up close could give some insight," Coran suggested, "that way we all see how they work and how to use them in battle."

"Ladies first," Lelouch said to Shirley.

"Um… okay," Shirley activated her Geass and a blink later, she was gone.

"WOAH! Where'd you go?" Rivalz exclaimed.

"Nowhere guys! I'm right here!" the Orange Paladin said.

"You're invisible! That's _so_ cool!" Milly squealed.

"Hmmm… I think invisible is the wrong term," Lelouch said, "Shirley, turn it off for a second, Rai, go to the opposite end of the room. I want to try something."

The Green Paladin shrugged and obeyed, stopping at the far wall.

"Okay, try it again Shirley,"

Shirley turned it on again. Once again, the Lelouch and the others close by; they couldn't see her. But Rai…

"Did you do it? I can still see you!"

"You can?" Shirley asked, shocked.

"As I suspected. You're not becoming invisible with your Geass. Rather, it seems you're projecting an energy field that affects people and creatures a certain distance away from you. It likely distorts our vision so that you simply look invisible to us. But because Rai's out of range, it didn't affect him." Lelouch deduced.

"It seems we'll have some extra training to do," Allura said, "to find its limits and capabilities."

"I think I can make others invisible too," Shirley said, "on the Balmera Coran, Shay, C.C., and I were all invisible to the sentries."

"I believe all three of us were in some form of physical contact with you when that happened," C.C. said, "So it's assumed that that's how it can be done. The Geass recognizes anyone touching you as an extension of your own body, and therefore will act to hide that as well."

"Cool!" Kallen said, mildly impressed with the ability. She could already see the advantages that this gave.

"And you Lelouch?" Suzaku asked, narrowing his eyes. He didn't know why, but something about this 'Geass' power rubbed him the wrong way.

"...Alright," Lelouch turned to Coran, activating his Geass with a small grin, _"Tell us the most embarrassing thing that's happened to you."_

Coran's eyes lit up with a familiar red ring around them, "Well, when I was just beginning my training as the royal family's advisor I do recall tripping down the staircase, losing my pants and shirt in the process and lying square eagle on at the bottom… with the entire royal court there to witness it,"

There was silence for a solid ten seconds before most of the Paladins out laughing. Even Lelouch had thrown his head back in guffaw and deactivated his Geass in the process. Allura was attempting to hide a couple of giggles as well. C.C. was also shaking her head in amusement.

"Huh? Wha-what happened? Why are you all laughing at me?" the advisor asked.

"Oh," Allura coughed to cover her next snicker, "nothing that you must concern yourself with Coran."

"My Geass originally was the ability to compel anyone to obey when I make eye contact with them. The drawbacks that I've noticed so far are that I can only do it once per person. So now that I just used it on Coran, it won't affect him again. Also…"

Lelouch activated his Geass again and held his fist to the side, which was charging up with lightning. A blast then shot out, completely obliterating the cup Rivalz was using at the table.

"I can do that."

"Woah! That was like that one superhero movie! You know, the one where the chick was kidnapped by aliens?" Rivalz asked.

Lelouch smiled and shook his head slightly. He knew what Rivalz meant, but it was hilarious that that was the first thing that his friend thought of.

"Strange, no one I've made contracts with was able to do that…" C.C. muttered, inwardly quite shocked.

"I wasn't able to do that until we infiltrated Sendak's ship. Something just… snapped inside me. I don't know how else to describe it."

"Hey yeah! Both you and Rai totally destroyed the sentries that came after us," Milly remembered.

"Come to think of it," Rai said softly, rejoining the group, "whenever I fight, I get this weird feeling. Like my senses are heightened or something. When I was fighting Sendak the other day, he mentioned a group of people. The 'Druids'? He said I must have paid a visit to them or something. So if I do have this Geass thing too, it seems to activate when I'm physically in battle."

"I see. We'll see what can be done about it. He did say something similar to me as well," Lelouch said, "Princess, Coran, does that name ring a bell at all? The Druids?"

"Not that I recall no," Allura shook her head.

"It could be the division's name," Coran suggested, "a group of Galra that specialize in science and like."

"Perhaps…"

"Okay… but why you Lulu?" Shirley suddenly asked, "you get this weird power and decide to use it to fight Britannia? Why go so far? Why does it have to be you that does this?"

That was the big burning question, wasn't it? Well, time to finally answer it.

"Do you remember the story of how my parents died?"

Shirley and Rivalz winced. The official story that was spun about Lelouch and Nunnally's past was that their father was a scientist, and their mother a businesswoman, and both were very well versed within Britannia's politics. They had moved to Japan to help settle the disputes about the Sakuradite mineral. But shortly after, the Pacific War broke out, and both of them lost their lives.

"Yeah, you said that they were killed during the first days of the Pacific War, right?" Rivalz said.

Lelouch nodded and grimaced.

"That's the story that I came up with, with some help from the Ashfords. But in reality, my mother was murdered while we were still living in the homeland."

"Wait, what? But, I don't get it..." Shirley stuttered. All of these reveals today was starting to make her head feel dizzy.

"Yeah, what Shirley said. I know that Milly's grandfather owed you guys a favor, but..."

"My mother and the Ashfords were close friends up until she died. That incident stripped them of their status as nobles. If it weren't for the Ashfords, my mother would never have become the Knight of Six or Two, for that matter."

As he expected, their eyes widened to the size of softballs. Even Kallen and Rai looked surprised.

"Whoa, hold on, back up! Your mother was a Knight of the Round?!"

"Let me put it to you this way, Rivalz. Lamperouge is mine and Nunnally's mother's maiden name. When she was married, she was renamed Marianne vi Britannia."

It was nothing but silence. Milly and Suzaku were the only two not showing signs of shock, having known about this beforehand.

Rivalz's jaw was on the floor, Shirley was a stuttering mess, Kallen was stock still, and just stood there dumbfounded. Coran was also quite shocked, and Allura seemed to relax slightly, her suspicions of him being a prince being confirmed. Still, Lelouch felt somewhat relieved to finally have that off of his chest. Now they knew his identity. Now they had to understand his reasons.

"W-w-what... S-so then, you and Nunnally are..." Kallen stammered.

"Correct. Officially, Lelouch vi Britannia and Nunnally vi Britannia both died near the end of the Pacific War. After we were exiled, we were sent under the care of the Kururugi family. That's how Suzaku and I knew each other before."

The word 'exiled' caught Allura's attention, but Coran beat her to the question, "Wait, why would you and your sister have been exiled?"

No one expected to hear Lelouch's tone go cold and icy. The air in the room seemed to turn several degrees colder.

"Because, my father, Charles zi Britannia, doesn't give a damn about anyone but himself, not even his own children. After our mother was killed, I barged into the throne room, and demanded that justice be done."

Lelouch took the mind meld device from C.C. and placed it on his own head. He figured showing them would help them understand better than merely telling them.

The screen in front of him fizzled out before clearing. It showed a set of elegant grand doors in front, and after a few moments they opened up.

 _"Announcing Prince Lelouch vi Britannia, Seventeenth Heir to the Royal Britannian Imperial Throne!"_ someone announced to the side. At the other end of the room was a large throne with the emperor himself seated on it. To both sides were nobles and other people dressed in fancy gowns and elegant jewelry. The women all had their hair styled beautifully.

The screen slowly began to approach the ruler of Britannia, walking at a steady pace and with purpose, ignoring the whispers circling, though some of the comments shocked a majority of the audience.

 _"I heard_ the Empress _Marianne was killed inside of the Britannian Palace."_

 _"There's no way terrorists could've gotten in there."_

 _"Which means that the real assassins must have been…"_

 _"Shhh. Beware, my friend. You'll regret it if anyone hears that kind of talk around the Palace."_

 _"And yet the boy remains… even though his mother is dead."_

 _"It's over. And the Ashford family who stood behind them is finished as well."_

 _"And his sister, the Princess?"_

 _"We understand she was shot in the legs."_

 _"And that she lost her sight."_

 _"Blindness caused by trauma though, isn't it?"_

 _"No difference. Now she can't even be married off for political gain."_

The screen came to a stop at the foot of the throne, _"Hail, your Majesty! My mother, the Empress, is dead!"_ A young voice was heard, which they realized must be Lelouch's when he was younger.

 _"Old news. What of it?"_ the Emperor replied.

 _"What of it?!"_ younger Lelouch exclaimed in disbelief.

 _"You sought an audience with the Emperor of Britannia simply to inform me of that? Send the next one in. I have no time for these childish games."_

 _"Father!"_ the screen approached the throne closer. Two guards standing by the throne rushed to intercept but were stopped when the Emperor raised his hand.

The guards straightened and secured their weapons. _"Yes! Your Majesty!"_

 _"Why didn't you keep mother out of harm's way? You're the Emperor, the greatest man in this nation if not the world. You should have protected her, and now you don't even visit Nunnally?!"_

 _"I've no use for that weakling,"_ This reply drew a large variety of reactions from the group watching. Shirley had gasped and covered her mouth her hands. Rivalz and Rai were both standing with duplicate looks of horror. Even Coran looked taken aback and a little ill. Milly grimaced and looked away, while Suzaku scowled. He had heard stories about the Emperor, but witnessing this firsthand… it paled to anything else he was aware of. Kallen and Allura, on the other hand, weren't horrified. They were both livid. Kallen gnashed her teeth, and Allura was clenching her hands so hard they almost turned white.

 _"That weakling?"_ Lelouch gasped.

 _"That is what it means to be royalty."_ Allura honestly never thought she'd meet someone she'd hold in as much contempt as she did Zarkon, but it seems she had. Lelouch's father was certainly one of the most despicable beings she'd ever laid eyes on as she stared at his face in disgust.

The screen shifted downward for a moment, before raising again, _"Then I don't want to be your heir. I give up my claim to the throne!"_

There were shouts and noises of bewilderment and shock that followed. The vassals that were there to watch were all astounded at the proclamation.

 _"I'm sick of the fighting and scheming over who will succeed you, Father. I've had enough!"_

 _"You are dead."_ They heard the young Lelouch gasp.

 _"You have always been dead to me, dead from the moment you were born. Who gave you the fine clothes you wear, a comfortable home, the food you eat, and your very life? All of those, I have given to you. In short, you are nothing to me because you have never existed. Yet you dare to speak such foolishness to me?!"_ the Emperor rose threateningly from his throne, and the young Lelouch stumbled back as the screen shook with his cry.

 _"Lelouch! You are dead. Therefore, you are not entitled to any rights. I am sending you and Nunnally to Japan. As Prince and Princess, you will serve well as bargaining tools."_

The screen shorted out and the Black Paladin pulled the device from his head, his hands shaking slightly.

"The image you saw when I messed up the mind-meld was of the assassination. Not a day goes by that it doesn't haunt me… After that, we went to Japan and were taken in by Suzaku and his family. The Pacific War started not long after that. We were staying at the Kururugi Shrine during that time, and it was one of the first places to get bombed by Britannian forces. Nunnally and I wouldn't have survived had Suzaku not helped us escape. During this time, Britannia had developed a new weapon, the Knightmare Frame, war machines that work in a very similar fashion to the Lions, though not nearly as advanced, to be used within the military ranks. The country fell in less than a month, and not even once did anyone come even to try and rescue us. In other words, it didn't matter to them if their prince and princess were still there. They attacked anyway, knowing that there was a huge possibility that we would die, and officially that's exactly what happened. Lelouch vi Britannia and Nunnally vi Britannia's deaths were marked among the casualties of that war. It's only thanks to Milly and her family that Nunnally and I have a place to stay at all."

"...That's horrifying!" Coran said.

"All this time…" Rivalz said, clenching his fists and scowling in disgust.

"Lelouch I…" Shirley started before stopping as tears trailed her face.

Rai also was scowling. Though he still didn't remember much, everyone knew about the war. And to hear how it happened in another point of view was terrifying, and immediately regretted ever calling Lelouch selfish.

"Lelouch, I knew that you were a prince, but… I didn't expect your father to be such a cruel individual."

"Wait, you knew Allura? How? When?" Rivalz asked.

"Apparently, the mice don't know when to keep certain pieces of information to themselves," C.C. said, eyeing the mice. Platt had the decency to look a little guilty, but the other three just shrugged aloofly.

"The Emperor... my father... he's a monster. Now, do you understand? This is why I have Geass, why I became Zero. Though I'll admit there is personal motivation behind this, it's not about revenge, not to me. The Britannian Empire is nothing more than a plague upon the Earth; I swore I would do what it takes to create a world where Nunnally, and all those less fortunate like her, can find happiness. But to do that... I have to... I _will_ obliterate Britannia!"

"And you will!" Allura agreed, looking right at the prince, "Because you'll have Voltron with you!"

"Princess, not that I disagree in the slightest, but are you sure this is a good idea?" Coran inquired.

"Absolutely!" she proclaimed, "They may not be the Galra, but I can not just sit by and let other people suffer like this. Lelouch, you have my support in this endeavor."

"I thank you Princess, but I only fly the Black Lion, and though she may be powerful, I doubt we can do it alone."

"You won't be!" Kallen said, stepping forward, "The Red Lion is right next to you! Can't leave a fellow Black Knight behind now can I?"

"Wait, Kallen?" Rivalz exclaimed, "You're in the Black Knights too?"

"That's right! Even if I wasn't half Japanese, I wouldn't be standing by and letting innocent people die!"

"You're half Japanese?" Suzaku asked, shocked.

"Yes. My real name is Kallen Kouzuki, and I'm half Japanese, half Britannian."

"Why did you choose to do this then?" Shirley asked, "I mean, it's pretty obvious by now that you're not the sickly Kallen Stadtfeld we know."

"Yeah! By the way, please keep that look. It suits you way better than before," Rivalz said with a grin.

She shot Rivalz a slightly annoyed look, "...Because Lelouch isn't the only person, who's lost someone to Britannia." At everyone's concerned inquiring faces, Kallen grimaced, tears pricking her eyes, "Britannia killed my brother, Naoto. He never hurt _anyone!_ When Japan was overtaken, my brother and some of his friends made a small group. They weren't terrorists though. I guess the best way to describe them is like Robin Hood and his gang, you know? Anyway, they never let me go with them, said it was _too dangerous,"_ She growled a little before continuing, "Anyway, all they technically did was find food and medicine, whether from an overly rich house, hospital, or whatever, and then hand it out to people in the ghetto. Sure, they may have stolen some of the stuff, but that's all they did. They were never violent though! Naoto even insisted they not carry guns! Anyway…" Kallen had to take a breath to gain control of her emotions, tears nearly spilling from her eyes, "Anyway, one time they went out on one of their raids, nothing special, just another nobleman house that had more food than he knew what to do with, and as they were leaving they got caught by some soldiers in Knightmare Frames. Naoto distracted them while the others got away… they publicly executed three days later."

Lelouch and the other Paladins looked in shock; even he didn't know about this. It was no wonder Kallen showed her distaste for Britannia so strongly.

"They killed my brother when _all_ he was trying to do was help others! No, not because he was helping 'others', but because he was helping 'Elevens'! What kind of logic is that?! Even they charged him for theft that doesn't warrant the death penalty!" she screamed, tears falling. Coran stepped forward a placed a hand on Kallen's shoulder. The Red Paladin instantly wrapped her arms around his neck and broke down in sobs, and they both were lowered to the floor. Allura also comforted her, running her hand up and down her back.

"I-I'm sorry that happened," Lelouch tried to sound comforting. He knew that Kallen's brother was dead, but he never knew anything about the circumstances. Her attitude towards Britannians explained a lot now.

Kallen sniffled, before wiping away the rest of her tears, "Either way, I'm with you too Lelouch, Zero, or whatever you want to call yourself."

Lelouch smiled graciously, "I thank you… Q1," he finished with a smirk. Kallen snorted and shook her head as she slowly stood back up.

"I'm in too!" Shirley said, shocking Lelouch again. He honestly was expecting to get scorned and even kicked off the team for revealing all this to them, but everyone was suddenly proving him wrong, "Besides, I already told Shay we'd be saving everyone, that includes our own planet! The Orange Lion will stand with you too!"

"So is the Green Lion," Rai said, stepping forward, "Lelouch, I'm sorry I called you selfish before, you're anything but that!"

"Me too! If that's really what the Emperor is like, I don't want anything to do with that monster! I mean what kind of a parent does that to their own kids?! What the hell?!" Rivalz ranted.

"Don't count me out," Milly smiled, "who else is supposed to keep an eye on you, Lulu?" Everyone laughed a little at that.

Suzaku just stood there, still in semi-shock. What amazed him most was how fast everyone in the room was suddenly against their own country. How could they not see the consequences that could occur from this?

"Suzaku," the Purple Paladin jumped, startled his thoughts, "I know we don't agree on many things, but I think we can agree on one. The Galra are the bigger threat and if they reach Earth, the entire planet is in jeopardy, including Britannia. I believe it's in both of our best interests to work together in this."

Suzaku grimaced, no matter how much he wanted to deny it, Lelouch did have a point there. But still…

"Lelouch, you realize if Earth wants a chance to stand against the Galra, then we'll need Britannia _with_ us. Despite what you might think, Britannia has the strongest military power at the moment, and we'll need that to defend the planet! W-Why don't we just tell him?" Suzaku suggested.

"'Tell him'?" Lelouch asked as if Suzaku just spoke to him in an ancient Roman dialect.

"Yeah! If-if the leader of a country knows there's a threat coming, _and_ is provided with legitimate proof, wh-why wouldn't he help?!"

Lelouch let out a sigh; he then approached the Purple Paladin before he almost nose to nose with him. Suzaku leaned back, looking very uncomfortable.

"Let me make something very clear Suzaku," Lelouch almost whispered in his ear, "you _do not_ know that man the way I do. And I can guarantee, that when I say he won't help. _He. Won't. Help."_

Suzaku had to take a couple of steps back. He had never heard Lelouch use that tone of voice before. It terrified him.

"However, you are correct about one thing," he said a little louder, walking back to the center of the room, "Britannia's military might trumps any on Earth at this very moment. Therefore, if the Galra were to attack at this very moment, this the outcome I see. Due to their superior firepower, Britannia would likely try to shoot them out of the sky immediately, not even take the time to ask who they are, or what they want. This course of action would only provoke the Galra further. They would retaliate with their own weapons. Ones that Britannia would never even dream of inventing. They would wipe out their troops and the rest of the Empire overnight. When that happens, other countries will move in to claim the power void that has appeared. I have no doubt this will ultimately lead to conflict between these other countries. The Galra will immediately take advantage of the wars and chaos that follow. The rest of Earth's forces will be destroyed within days. Any other resistance would be hunted down and annihilated along with the rest of the planet."

"Are you sure that's what will happen?" Rivalz asked in a shaky tone.

"Well, in theory considering it hasn't yet, but that's the most likely outcome. This also means that to defeat the Galra, we _will_ need Britannia's forces on our side."

"Wha-but you just said-"

"Kallen, I know what you're thinking, but hear me out, please," Lelouch said calmly, "I know I spoke of my desire to _obliterate_ Britannia, but you misunderstand what I mean by that. What I want to obliterate isn't Britannia itself, but their ideology. Their belief in Social Darwinism. I will honestly say that I believe that most people within the Britannian military _are_ good people but simply following order given by racist officers and are simply too scared to disobey."

"...Lelouch, say you're wrong," Suzaku suddenly said, "say we _do_ manage to convince your dad-sorry," he quickly apologized at Lelouch's glare, "The Emperor, say we _do_ convince him, and he agrees to help. That should merit something right?"

Lelouch shook his head, "This is what I see happening if by the tiniest percent that happens. If the Emperor, along with every other world leader not under his thumb yet agrees to work together, I do see us defeating the Galra. But once that threat is eliminated, the _very second_ it's confirmed that we beat them, Britannia will just go right back to what it does best: oppressing other countries for their own personal gain. I wouldn't be surprised if they try to use what remains of the Galra tech to advance their own, making them even more difficult to defeat in the future. You know that Lloyd Asplund certainly wouldn't pass up the opportunity to do so Suzaku."

"Sure, I know some people might be interested in it, but the Emperor-"

"THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT CHARLES ZI BRITANNIA WOULD DO!"

Suzaku jumped back. For a brief moment Allura, still standing to the side watching this showdown, saw something different. It wasn't Suzaku and Lelouch arguing, it was Alfor, her father… and somebody else.

"If we want to save Earth, if we want to stop the Galra from taking it, if we want our world to have a peaceful future, it has to be united, not under Britannia rule, but where all nations, all people stand as equals regardless of their race, status, gender, or ideology. But to do that, we can't have Britannia's beliefs on Social Darwinism be active anywhere, and that means removing Charles zi Britannia from his throne. Otherwise, Earth will just go right back to fighting itself, and nothing will have changed," the Black Paladin said, "I can think of maybe two or three people from the Royal Family who might be willing to listen to us and cooperate," the images of Euphemia, Odysseus, Marrybell, even Cornelia and Schneizel flashed through his head, though he didn't utter their names, "but not Charles."

"Suzaku, we _are_ looking at a man that exiled his own kids just because their mom was killed," Rai pointed out.

Suzaku still looked unsure, and Lelouch inwardly sighed. Suzaku usually meant well, but he was also one of the most stubborn people that Lelouch had ever met.

"I'm not going to force you Suzaku, that's one of the few things I'll never do. But right now, I need you. Nunnally needs you. The Earth needs you. Voltron needs you. So _please,_ fight with us now." Lelouch held out his hand to his comrade in arms.

Suzaku was silent for a few moments. He admitted Lelouch's responses were almost all logical, even his explanation on Britannia's 'obliteration.' Not to mention that Lelouch came out and told them that he and Zero were the same being. That probably took a lot of courage on his friend's part, considering how hard it came to trusting others, even when they were still kids. And both he and Lelouch at least agreed that Britannia needed to stop what they were doing in order for peace to come about. So, because of that…

Suzaku clutched Lelouch's hand back, "I'll help you, Lelouch. But there are lines I will not cross such as endangering civilians."

Lelouch grinned, "Of course, I think we can all agree to that."

"Alright! Team group hug!" Milly proclaimed as everyone crowded around the two Paladins in a tight embrace. Even C.C. had been dragged into it.

Lelouch was so relieved that it had turned out this way. His original fear had been that once they knew who he was, both Zero and a Britannian Prince, that they would turn away and abandon him too. That, fortunately, wasn't the case. Now that everything was off his chest he felt lighter and happier.

"Thanks, everyone, for everything…"

"No problem./Anytime!/Of course, idiot!" came the responses.

"Right," Lelouch said after everyone backed away, "then I think it's time we launch this Castleship. Princess, we ready?"

"Absolutely!" Allura nodded.

"Then let's go, we have a Balmera to save,"

"Yes, yes, let's go!" Shirley eagerly responded, leading the way to the bridge.

After changing into their Paladin uniforms, everyone arrived at the bridge, Allura stood underneath the crystal once again. As it glowed, seven large colored seats that circled the edge of the room rose from the floor. Each matched the color of their respective Paladin, Lelouch at the front, Kallen and Rai behind him to the right and left, followed by Suzaku and Milly, and Rivalz and Shirley taking up the back. Each seat was conveniently located next to each of the elevators that could take them down to their Lions. As everyone took their seats, transparent screens appeared in front of them, each showing a different function of the Castle.

Coran and C.C. were close to the front of the bridge as well, just behind Lelouch's chair. The green-haired witch was adorning a new outfit of her own as well. It looked identical to Allura's but was gold where pink should be, and the blue was much darker.

Two pillars rose to Allura's side, where she placed her hands gently on top of them. "Activate interlock," Allura said.

"Dynotherms connected," Coran confirmed from below.

From outside, the Castleship's windows glowed a brilliant blue as the ship prepared for launch after 10,000 years of inactivity.

"Mega-thrusters are go," Allura said.

"We are ready to depart Planet Arus," Coran said.

"Whenever you're ready," C.C. added.

The dark windows that initially surrounded the bridge opened up to reveal the clear Arusian sky, "Firing main engines for launch," the Castle soon began to shake.

The six spires surrounding the center moved outward as the engines roared to life. At last, the Castle of Lions detached itself from its rocky outpost and rose into the sky. All the way from the Arusian village, the king and his subjects watched as their 'Lion Goddess' and her warriors vanished into the atmosphere.

 **AN: So this is a bit of an interlude between episodes. Hope you liked it. It was actually pretty fun to write. I got stuck in some places, but thanks to the lovely Iron117Prime I was able to push through!**

 **A little note about Naoto's death, all that we know about it is that he died before the first season of Code Geass. So Iron117Prime came up with this. Hope you like it.**

 **Also, C.C.'s outfit, you can find it in the fanart that was made for me. It's posted on my tvtropes fic page. ;)**

 **So anyway, R &R please and I'll see you next time!**


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